China recorded a $5.35 billion trade surplus in March as import growth eased back from a 13-month peak while exports grew faster than expected, customs data showed on Tuesday.
Imports grew at 5.3% in March versus year ago levels, compared with economists' expectations of 9.0% and February's 39.6% growth.
Exports expanded by 8.9% in March versus the same month in 2011. The consensus call was for 7.2% growth, a marked easing from February's 18.4% growth rate.
The two numbers left the overall trade balance in surplus, reversing February's $31.5 billion run of red ink on the balance of payments and confounding market expectations of a $1.3 billion deficit.
March data provides the first hard economic numbers of the year not distorted by the impact of Lunar New Year holidays which fell in January this year, causing considerable skew in comparisons with the February 2011 holiday.
The government's official forecast is for export and import growth to average 10% through the course of 2012.
