China’s trade rose in April as foreign demand warmed and Business and Economic News

Analysts say exports rose 32.3 percent since April 2020, likely giving the Chinese economy a turbo boost this year.

As China extended its impressive trade performance in April, exports accelerated unexpectedly and import growth was in a decade high, boosting the world’s second-largest economy.

Analysts say that halting factory production in other countries hit by a sharp economic recovery and coronavirus in the United States has boosted demand for goods in China.

Dollar exports rose 32.3 percent from a year earlier to $ 263.92 billion, China’s General Administration of Administration said on Friday, beating analysts ’forecasts of 24.1% and growth of 30.6% in March.

“China’s export growth is again shocking,” said Zhiwei Zhang, chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management, adding that it is likely that two factors – the strong U.S. economy and the COVID-19 crisis in India, led to a change in orders to China – likely contributed. strong export growth.

“We expect China’s export growth to remain strong in the second half of this year, as the top two factors are likely to continue to favor Chinese manufacturers. Exports will be a key pillar for growth in China this year.”

The numbers helped boost yuan and stocks in China and other Asian markets.

Imports were also impressive, rising by 43.1 per cent a year earlier, the fastest gain since January 2011 and growing by 38.1% in March. Reuters news was slightly faster than the 42.5 percent growth provided by analyst surveys, driven by high commodity prices.

Zhang Yi, chief economist at Zhonghai Shengrong Capital Management, said that strong growth in imports should be seen, mainly driven by price inflation, while China is tightening fiscal support measures.

“It should be noted that the rapid year-on-year growth today was due to negative growth a year ago. The two-year average growth was around 10 per cent, which is not so strong.”

In fact, the import volumes of some products have begun to equalize. Chinese iron ore imports fell 3.5% in April from a month earlier, and copper imports fell 12.2% month-on-month.

China’s trade surplus of $ 42.85 billion was more than the $ 28.1 billion surplus given in the Reuters survey.

Slowing down the moment

However, analysts still expect China’s economic growth to record 18.3% growth from January to March as the COVID-19 pandemic disrupts the global supply chain, slowing the movement of goods and increasing shipping costs.

“Despite the demand outlook and good policies, supply constraints are expected to rise over time due to global chip shortages, shipping interruptions, container shortages and transportation rates,” Christina Zhu, an economist at Moody’s Analytics, said in a statement. on Thursday.

The persistent shortage of semiconductors needed for a wide range of products also includes consumer electronics and cars. It has begun to hurt manufacturers, leading to the weight of production.

Etelec Electronics, a manufacturer of LED lights in Zhongshan, has stopped accepting new orders since April 26 due to a shortage of integrated circuits, the company said in a statement seen by Reuters.

Last week, the Chinese Manufacturing Purchasing Managers ’Index showed that growth in factory activity slowed in April a month earlier when supply bottlenecks reached production.