China trade misses big, ferrous bearish

Monday 8 May 2017

China April trade data is out and missed big, adding to the growing gloom. Exports grew 8% year on year versus 11.3% expected and imports grew 11.9% versus 18% expected. The surplus bulge to $38.05bn:

Steel exports continue to tank, in at 6.49mt, down 35% year on year:

I suspect that this is partly the closure of induction furnaces that were exporting sub-standard steel.

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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.