China's July exports tumble, add to pressure to shore up flagging economy

China's exports plunged by 14.5 per cent in July compared with a year earlier, adding to pressure on the ruling Communist Party to reverse an economic slump.

Exports fell to $ 281.8 billion as the decline widened from June's 12.4 per cent fall, customs data showed Tuesday. Imports tumbled 12.4 per cent from a year earlier to $ 201.2 billion in a sign of weak domestic demand, widening from the previous month's 6.8 per cent contraction.

The country's global trade surplus narrowed by 20.4 per cent from a record high a year ago to $ 80.6 billion.

Chinese leaders are trying to shore up business and consumer activity after a rebound following the end of anti-virus controls in December fizzled out earlier than expected.

Economic growth sank to 0.8 per cent in the three months ending in June compared with the previous quarter, down from the January-March period's 2.2 per cent. That is the equivalent of 3.2 per cent annual growth, which would be among China's weakest in three decades.

The ruling party has promised measures to support entrepreneurs and to encourage home purchases and consumer spending but hasn't announced large-scale stimulus spending or tax cuts.

Demand for Chinese exports cooled after the Federal Reserve and central banks in Europe and Asia started raising interest rates last year to cool inflation that was at multi-decade highs.

The export contraction was the biggest since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, according to Capital Economics. It said the decline was due mostly to lower prices, while volumes of goods were above pre-pandemic levels.

We expect exports to decline further over the coming months before bottoming out toward the end of the year, said Capital Economics in a report. The near-term outlook for consumer spending in developed economies remains challenging.

Exports to the United States fell 23 per cent from a year earlier to $ 42.3 billion while imports of American goods retreated 11.1 per cent to $ 12 billion. China's politically sensitive trade surplus with the United States narrowed by 27 per cent to a still-robust $ 30.3 billion.

China's imports from Russia, mostly oil and gas, narrowed by just under 0.1 per cent from a year ago to $ 9.2 billion. Chinese purchases of Russian energy have swelled, helping to offset revenue lost to Western sanctions imposed to punish the Kremlin for its invasion of Ukraine.

China, which is friendly with Moscow but says it is neutral in the war, can buy Russian oil and gas without triggering Western sanctions. The United States and French officials cite evidence China is delivering goods with possible military uses to Russia but haven't said whether that might trigger penalties against Chinese companies.

Exports to the 27-nation European Union slumped 39.5 per cent from a year earlier to $ 42.4 billion while imports of European goods were off 44.1 per cent at $ 23.3 billion. China's trade surplus with the EU contracted by 32.7 per cent to $ 19.1 billion.

For the first seven months of the year, Chinese exports were off 5 per cent from the same period in 2022 at just over $ 1.9 trillion. Imports were down 7.6 per cent at $ 1.4 trillion.