China confounds with tearaway trade data

Wednesday 8 May 2013

China’s April trade data is out and will confound just about everyone with a ripping 14.7% growth in exports versus 9.2% expected and 16.8% for imports versus 13% expected. The result was a bigger than expected surplus of $18 billion.

All of China’s neighbours have recorded lousy trade data in the month, the China PMIs are showing lousy export orders but go figure.

Trade data has been doing this all year. Expect more questions over the veracity of the data.

About the author

David Llewellyn-Smith is Chief Strategist at the MB Fund and MB Super. David is the founding publisher and editor of MacroBusiness and was the founding publisher and global economy editor of The Diplomat, the Asia Pacific’s leading geo-politics and economics portal. He is also a former gold trader and economic commentator at The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, the ABC and Business Spectator. He is the co-author of The Great Crash of 2008 with Ross Garnaut and was the editor of the second Garnaut Climate Change Review.