China Exports Imports grew faster than expected

China’s exports rose more than forecast in February and posted a third straight gain although it slipped slightly than last month.

 Analysts said the sharp rise was due to low trade figures comparison basis last year. A big surge of January figures was bolstered by China Lunar New Year and a sudden sharp fall of trade figures in January last year. Domestic consumption in China B2C and C2C marketplaces remains strong before the lunar new year as Chinese are shopping online for the celebration.   

It would be fair to evaluate the trend by averaging the trade figures in Jan and Feb, but overall, China exports trade is picking up. they said.

China’s imports and exports in February rose 45.2 percent to reach $181.4 billion, according to the figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) Thursday. Compared with January, the figure dropped 11.5 percent.

• Exports in February reached $94.52 billion, up 45.7 percent from the previous year, following a 21 per cent rise in January
• Imports in February up 44.7 percent year-on-year to reach $86.9 billion, after record growth of 85.5 per cent in January

China Exports in Feb 2010 surges rose 45.7% from a year earlier _ photo courtesty of WSJ

China inflation rate increased as a result of higher food prices. NBS said that food prices went up 6.2% year on year in February, while prices in non-food sectors climbed 1.0%.

• China’s Consumer Price Index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation,  rose 2.7% in February, up from a 1.5%  in January year on year in February, 2010, higher than market’s expectation. The growth was 1.2 percentage points faster than in January.
• The NBS also said China’s Producer Price Index (PPI),  which measures prices of industrial products, rose 5.4% year on year in February,  up from a 4.3% in January.

Beijing has set a goal of 3% CPI inflation for 2010. The latest  figures are forecast to show inflation reached a 16- month high last month. Premier Wen Jiabao has cited price pressures, along with property speculation and loan quality at banks, among his top concerns for this year.

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