China’s imports unexpectedly drop in June, but exports beat forecasts

BEIJING — China’s imports fell in June, missing expectations for slight growth, while exports rose more than expected, customs data released Friday showed.

China’s imports fell by 2.3% in June from a year ago in U.S. dollar terms. That contrasts with a forecast of 2.8% growth, according to a Reuters poll.

U.S. dollar-denominated exports for June climbed by 8.6% year on year, beating expectations for 8% growth forecast by a Reuters poll.

Those figures lifted year-to-date imports by 2%, and exports by 3.6% in the first six months compared with the same period a year earlier.

China’s trade with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations surged by 7.1% in the first half of the year, cementing the bloc’s position as the country’s largest trading partner by region, followed by the European Union.

EU’s trade with China fell in the first six months of 2024, with imports and exports both declining.

China’s trade with the U.S. was down slightly in dollar terms during the first half of the year, as imports from the U.S. fell 4.9%, though exports rose 1.5%.

Trade with Brazil grew rapidly in the first six months, with Chinese exports to the Latin American country surging by 24.4% and imports climbing by 8.3% year on year.

China’s imports of rare earths, meat, cosmetics products and machine tools fell sharply in the first half of the year, customs data showed. However, imports of iron ore and oil grew during that time.

Amid slower domestic growth, Beijing has sought to shore up its own supplies of food and critical minerals in an effort to bolster national security.

In the first half of the year, China’s exports of furniture, home appliances, ships and cars grew. Exports of rare earths fell in terms of value, but rose in volume, the data showed.

China’s exports of cars rose by 18% in volume last month from the year-ago period, customs data showed.

Other reported major retail goods categories showed that the volume of suitcases China exported in June rose by 9% from a year ago. The number of shoes exported climbed by 3.7% in June to 840 million pairs.

China’s exports rose by 7.6% in May from last year in U.S. dollar terms, but imports had increased by just 1.8% during that time.

Domestic demand has remained lackluster. China’s consumer prices rose by 0.2% in June, year on year, missing expectations, while producer prices met expectations, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Wednesday.

Core CPI, which strips out more volatile food and energy prices, rose by 0.6% year on year in June, slightly slower than the 0.7% increase in the first six months of the year.

China’s National Bureau of Statistics is scheduled to release second-quarter gross domestic product figures and economic indicators for June on Monday.