AFP, BEIJING: Chinese export growth slowed in August, official data showed yesterday, missing forecasts expectations as weak global demand weighs on the world’s second largest economy. Exports rose 5.5 per cent year-on-year, the customs administration said, down from a 7.2 per cent increase in the previous month and missing a Bloomberg News forecast of 6.0 per cent.
“There appears to have been a broader decline in external demand,” Julian Evans-Pritchard of Capital Economics said in a note. Imports climbed 13.3 per cent beating an expected increase of 10.0 per cent, and leaving a $42.0b trade surplus for the month. Imports rose 11 per cent in July.