China June trade data misses forecasts, doubts over economy linger

FE Team | Published: July 11, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00

BEIJING, China: A vendor prepares to carry packages after unloading them from his vehicle outside a market in Beijing Thursday. China\'s monthly trade surplus jumped 16.4 per cent in June to $ 31.6 billion, official data showed on July 10, as exports and

BEIJING, July 10 (Reuters): China's trade performance improved in June but still missed market forecasts, reinforcing expectations that Beijing will have to unveil more stimulus measures to stabilise the economy and meet its 2014 growth target.
Exports rose 7.2 per cent in June from a year earlier, the best pace in five months, but well below a median forecast in a Reuters poll for a rise of 10.6 per cent.
Imports also missed expectations, growing by 5.5 per cent versus forecasts of 5.8 per cent, although they returned to positive territory after a small drop in May.
China's combined exports and imports edged up just 1.2 per cent in first six months of the year, data showed on Thursday.
"For the economy to rebound in the second half of this year, we believe more policy support is necessary due to the unsteady recovery base," said Wang Jun, economist at the China Centre for International Economic Exchanges, a think-tank in Beijing.
Premier Li Keqiang said on Monday that economic growth quickened in the second quarter from the previous three months, but added that further modest government support measures will still be needed. Beijing has set an annual growth target of around 7.5 per cent.
Since April, China has steadily loosened policy by reducing the amount of cash that some banks have to hold as reserves, instructing regional governments to quicken their spending, and hastening the construction of railways and public housing.
Evidence has mounted in recent weeks that those measures are beginning to have some effect, arresting a cooldown in activity which saw growth slide to an 18-month low of 7.4 per cent in the first quarter.
The latest Reuters poll showed the economy probably steadied in the second quarter, with annual growth holding firm at 7.4 per cent as the policy measures kicked in.
But economists say the recovery still appears patchy, and more stimulus may be needed to offset the downdraft from a cooling property market on the broader economy.