August saw Chinese exports surpass market expectations, rising by 8.7 percent year-on-year according to the latest customs data, the South China Morning Post reports.
That was almost two percent better than July’s 7 percent year-on-year increase, and above the 7.04 percent rise forecast by Chinese financial data provider Wind.
However, experts warned that shipments could face increased volatility due to front-loading. This is the practice of shipping goods earlier than usual to avoid potential future disruptions, such as the expected imposition of tariffs on a wide range of Chinese products by the US and European Union.
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The growth figure was also likely to have benefitted from August 2023 being a very low base figure, as exports contracted by 8.8 percent during that period.
Imports, meanwhile, were up by just 0.5 per cent from a year earlier – significantly less than the 7.2 per cent growth seen in July.
China’s trade surplus in August stood at US$91.02 billion, compared with US$84.65 billion the month prior.
