Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. Earth Science News .




TRADE WARS
China May trade data highlights growth concerns
by Staff Writers
Beijing (AFP) June 08, 2013


China inflation slows to 2.1% in May: govt
Beijing (AFP) June 09, 2013 - China's inflation eased to 2.1 percent year-on-year in May from 2.4 percent in April, official data showed Sunday, with analysts citing a steep fall in vegetable prices as the biggest factor leading the decline.

The consumer price index -- a main gauge of inflation -- decreased 0.6 percent month-on-month last month, compared with a gain of 0.2 percent in the previous month, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said in a statement.

The year-on-year figure for May compared with a forecast of a 2.5 percent increase in a median forecast of more than a dozen economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires.

A drop of 13.8 percent month-on-month in vegetable prices during May was the single biggest factor leading the decline, Yu Qiumei, a senior analyst at the NBS, said in a statement.

China, the world's second-largest economy, has set its inflation target for this year at 3.5 percent, higher than the actual inflation rate 2.6 percent last year. Inflation hit a 10-month high of 3.2 percent in February.

Producer prices -- which measure the costs of goods as they leave factories, and are seen as a leading indicator of price trends -- fell 2.9 percent compared with a drop of 2.6 percent in April, the NBS said.

Analysts had expected China's economy, which grew at its slowest pace in 13 years in 2012, to experience a pick-up this year, though figures so far have been disappointing.

On Saturday, China reported a sharp slowdown in exports in May from April, while imports unexpectedly dropped, amid weakness in the domestic economy and sluggish demand overseas.

In April, the government announced a surprisingly weak growth in gross domestic product (GDP) of 7.7 percent for the first quarter. That figure largely surprised analysts who had expected that growth was likely to accelerate in 2013 after showing strength at the end of last year.

Besides, the trade data for May, other recent indicators have raised alarm bells. A survey by British banking giant HSBC showed China's manufacturing activity measured 49.2 in May, an eight-month low.

The government's own survey of manufacturing activity for May, however, was more optimistic, unexpectedly rebounding to 50.8 from 50.6 the month before, according to the NBS.

The private and government purchasing managers' index (PMI) surveys of manufacturing are widely watched indicators of the health of the Chinese economy. Readings above 50 indicate expansion while anything below points to contraction.

China on Saturday reported a sharp slowdown in exports in May compared to the previous month while imports unexpectedly dropped, as the world's second largest economy grapples with slowing growth and sluggish overseas demand.

Overseas shipments rose just one percent to $182.8 billion last month, far lower than 14.7 percent recorded in April, customs authorities said in a statement.

It also missed a medium forecast of 5.6 percent expansion in a Dow Jones Newswires' poll of economists.

Imports dropped 0.3 percent to $162.3 billion, said the statement, down from a rise of 16.8 percent in April and well below the economists' median forecast of a five percent increase.

Trade surplus stood at $20.4 billion last month, it said, widening marginally from the previous month.

The disappointing performance was due to "a slowdown in the domestic economy, sluggish foreign demand, companies' high costs, the appreciation in the yuan's real value and a worsening trade environment", customs said.

It was also a result of a crackdown on misreporting by importers and exporters, it added. They may have overstated their business to seek to evade Chinese government controls on capital movements and channel funds into the country, he said.

Two-way trade between Hong Kong and the Futian Bonded Area, in the nearby Chinese city of Shenzhen, soared by "an extremely abnormal rate" of six times in the first quarter of the year, state broadcaster China Central Television reported Saturday.

A truck carrying the same batch of electronic products crossed the border 54 times in 11 days in April, each time logged onto the customs' record as a new shipment, it said.

The world's second-largest economy registered 7.8 percent growth in 2012, its slowest rate in 13 years.

The government in April announced a surprisingly weak expansion rate of 7.7 percent for the first quarter, dashing hopes that growth was poised to accelerate in 2013 after showing strength at the end of last year.

More recent economic indicators also failed to improve the outlook, with manufacturing activities in the country coming in at a contracting eight-month low of 49.2, according to a survey by HSBC this week. A figure below 50 indicates a contraction.

"Growth in exports to all major developed economies slowed... suggesting a recovery in the global economy is yet to be strong," Tang Jianwei, a Shanghai-based economist with the Bank of Communications, told AFP.

"Domestic demand has continued to be slack, affecting imports of commodities and raw materials."

He also noted that rising trade disputes between China and major trade partners have had a "rather big negative impact" on the country's imports and exports.

On Tuesday the European Commission imposed anti-dumping duties on imports of Chinese solar panels. Beijing responded immediately with an announcement of an anti-dumping probe into European wine, widening a row that has already involved telecom equipment, chemicals and seamless pipes.

The world's top exporter is also embroiled in trade disputes concerning other products with countries including the United States and Japan.

ANZ Bank analysts said the prospects for China's exports looked "grim" due to trade frictions and a strong Chinese currency, which has gained almost 20 percent against the yen this year.

"We believe China's loss of competitiveness relatively to ASEAN and Japan will gradually show up in China's export data in the following months, which will have dire consequences to China's already weak job markets," said Liu Ligang and Zhou Hao in a research note.

But Tang said the monthly change in trade data is unlikely to prompt the government to take any immediate measures.

"The Chinese leadership is much more tolerant of slower economic growth than in the past. They want to focus on reforms," he said.

Chinese leaders have said expansion will slow in the next stage of the nation's development from the near-double-digit yearly rises of recent decades, as they try to retool the economy to emphasise consumer demand as the key growth driver, rather than investment and exports.

The government has set its economic growth target for this year at 7.5 percent.

.


Related Links
Global Trade News






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








TRADE WARS
China's Xi visits Maya ruins, ending Mexico trip
Chichen Itza, Mexico (AFP) June 6, 2013
Chinese President Xi Jinping ended his Mexico trip Thursday with a sun-filled tour of the ancient Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza, accompanied by his host Enrique Pena Nieto and their wives. The Chinese leader's three-day visit, aimed at boosting economic ties with a resurgent Mexico, was made more notable by the starring role of his wife Peng Liyuan, a famous soprano in her home country. Pe ... read more


TRADE WARS
Sandbags and raw nerves as flood peak hits Germany

More radioactive leaks reported at Fukushima plant

Japan disaster cash spent on counting turtles: report

Agreement over Statue of Liberty security screening

TRADE WARS
A path to compact, robust sources for ultrashort laser pulses

Dutch duo peddle old bikes as fashion, furniture

To improve today's concrete, do as the Romans did

Magnetic monopoles erase data

TRADE WARS
Alpine lakes reflect climate change

Egypt ups the ante on Nile dispute with Ethiopia

EU closes shark finning loophole

Egypt warns 'all options open' on Ethiopia dam

TRADE WARS
Ancient trapped water could explain timing of Earth's first ice age

Researchers document acceleration of ocean denitrification during deglaciation

New map reveals secrets of Antarctica below the ice

Arctic current flowed under deep freeze of last ice age

TRADE WARS
Wild turkey damage to crops and wildlife mostly exaggerated

China, Argentina to increase soybean, corn trade: official

Climate and land use: Europe's floods raise questions

China opens EU wine probe as trade dispute spreads

TRADE WARS
Tropical Storm Andrea drenches Florida

Hungarians unite as 'worst-ever' floods threaten Budapest

Europe floods force tens of thousands from their homes

Medieval writings link volcanic eruptions, cold weather

TRADE WARS
Africans get tough with mineral-hungry China

Now is the time to invest in Africa: Japan's Abe

Japan, eyeing China, pledges $14 bn aid to Africa

Climate change drowning the 'Venice of Africa'

TRADE WARS
Geneticist speculates humans could have big eyes, foreheads in future

How similar are the gestures of apes and human infants? More than you might suspect

Discovery of oldest primate skeleton helps chart early evolution of humans, apes

Turning point for early human diets occurred 3.5 million years ago




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement