China’s July trade figures exceed projections

China's trade exceeded expectations in July, in what was seen as a sign that world's second-largest economy was stabilising, after a slowdown this year.

The rebound comes as an unexpected rise following fears over China's economic expansion even as global demand remained weak and as policymakers tried to rein in a local credit boom.

Exports were up 5.1 per cent against the same period a year earlier while imports rose 10.9 per cent, according to customs data.

Economists however, had expected growth, at a slower rate though.

China's politically-sensitive global trade surplus narrowed to $17.8 billion with exports to the US rising 2.3 per cent even as exports to Europe fell 2.8 per cent.

The latest trade figure disparity added to the signs of US recovery emerging even as Europe continued to stagnate.

The expansion comes following trade in June falling, even as exports contracted by 3.1 per cent while imports shrank 0.7 per cent.

China's economy grew 7.5 per cent in the three months ending in June over a year earlier, down from 7.7 per cent in the previous quarter, with slowing growth in factory production and investment.

According to some analysts, growth in China could slide to under 7 per cent in coming quarters.

Some economists and analysts have expressed scepticism over Chinese data in the past.

Following reports of false invoicing and factors skewing trade data, a crackdown on such practices was announced by China's foreign-exchange regulator last May, which resulted in significantly weaker numbers than economists' estimates over the past two months.

Among the detail of the trade report, shipments of electronics, making up almost a quarter of the total increased 11.3 per cent from a year earlier, while apparel exports were up 13.9 per cent.

As regards imports, those of crude oil were up about 20 per cent, with iron-ore purchases gaining 27 per cent and coal imports rising by 18 per cent.

Chinese stocks rose following the results, with the Hang Seng Index extending its 0.4 per cent gain ahead of the data to trade 0.8 per cent higher. The Shanghai Composite Index rose from a 0.3 per cent loss to a 0.5 per cent advance.