(MENAFN- AFP) Chinese trade slumped in January, authorities said Monday, as both exports and imports tumbled with feeble domestic and global demand dragging on the world's second-largest economy.
Exports dropped 11.2 percent year-on-year to $177.5 billion in dollar terms, Customs said, while imports plummeted 18.8 percent to $114.2 billion -- giving the Asian giant a record monthly trade surplus of $63.3 billion.
Tremors in overseas markets and weakness in partner economies have weighed on China, a main driver of the world's economic growth, and the globe's largest trader in goods.
Rock-bottom prices for commodities such as oil and slowing growth in infrastructure spending have hit China's import values, while exports have been hurt by frail overseas demand, along with rising labour costs and the increasing competitiveness of rival economies.
"We believe the slump in trade growth mainly reflects weakening investment demand, possibly from weaker property investment and measures to reduce overcapacity," wrote Nomura analyst Zhao Yang.
The figures were far worse than expected, with economists forecasting a 1.8 percent fall in exports in a Bloomberg News survey, and a 3.6 percent slide in imports.
China's economy grew 6.9 percent in 2015 -- the lowest rate since 1990 -- and is expected to slow further this year, with the darkening perspective contributing to plunges in global stock markets in recent weeks.
It has also been a factor in the decline of the yuan currency in recent months, but analysts said the record trade surplus gave Chinese officials some breathing room to cope with the floods of cash that have flowed out of the country.
On Monday the yuan leapt up more than one percent in onshore trade, its biggest gain for more than a decade according to Bloomberg News.
The large positive trade balance "should help offset some of the capital outflow and alleviate some depreciation pressure on the RMB", said the ANZ analysts.
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The export figures were sharply lower than the 1.4 percent slide in December, when imports had declined 7.6 percent.
Inward trade was hammered in January, falling in both volume and value terms, which a BofA Merrill Lynch research report said was "due to weakness in domestic demand and further downward adjustments in commodity prices".
China's leaders are looking to retool the economy to one focused more on consumer spending, but BofA Merrill Lynch said the lack of investment in fixed assets -- such as the big-ticket infrastructure projects that long fuelled China's growth -- would drag on imports.
"The sharp drop of trade in January was a reflection of weak external demand," ANZ analysts wrote in a note, citing weakness in trade partners Korea and Taiwan, although they added seasonal factors may have been an issue.
Capital outflow from China was nearly $160 billion in December alone, according to Bloomberg Intelligence.
Over the weekend China's central bank chief blamed foreign speculators in part for volatility in the yuan currency and said there was no further basis for depreciation.
"China has the world's largest foreign exchange reserves," People's Bank of China governor Zhou Xiaochuan said, according to a transcript of the interview posted on the bank's website Saturday.
"RMB depreciation has failed to lift China's export growth so far," wrote researchers with China International Capital Corporation, adding that authorities should make clear their plans for the currency.
The benchmark Shanghai index fell as much as 2.95 percent in the morning after a week-long holiday for the Lunar New Year, but pared losses during the day as other regional markets surged, closing down 0.63 percent.
While the trade figures were shakier than expected, Julian Evans-Pritchard of Capital Economics said in a research note that "things may not be quite as bad as they look" due to distortions in the data resulting from the shifting Lunar New Year holiday and capital flows.
Seasonal volatility meant it was "arguably too early to jump to conclusions" before the February figures became available, he said.
Customs earlier gave the figures in yuan terms, which showed exports down 6.6 percent, imports falling 14.4 percent, and a trade surplus of 12.2 percent.
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