China’s exports rose 8.5% in April in US dollar terms, marking a second straight month of growth, while imports fell 7.9% compared with a year ago. A trade surplus of $90.21bn was recorded in April, compared with a surplus of $88.2bn in March.
Softer trade data in April is likely to reflect “residual seasonality” after this year’s Lunar New Year. Goldman Sachs economists expected to see “the dissipation of this seasonal bias to slow export growth in April”.
China’s service sector remained a bright spot despite disappointing factory data. The National Bureau of Statistics’ manufacturing purchasing manager’s index reading missed expectations and fell into contraction territory with a reading of 49.2 in April from March’s reading of 51.9.
Goldman Sachs reiterated its forecast for China’s economy to see full-year growth of 6% in 2023. China’s inflation data is set to be released Thursday. Economists expect inflation slowed to a 0.3% year-on-year rise, according to a Reuters poll.
