China posted its first monthly trade deficit in three years on Wednesday, fuelling concerns of a slowdown in the world’s second largest economy.
February’s imports up 38.1 percent on a year earlier, pushed higher by increasing commodity prices and domestic demand. However, exports unexpectedly fell 1.3 percent, leading to a surprise trade deficit of $9.2 billion for the month.
China last reported a trade deficit in February 2014, with the latest figures coming below the monthly trade surplus of $25.8 billion expected by most analysts.
However, spectators have said the figures are likely to be a ‘blip’ caused by a longer holiday season in both January and February, which saw many businesses decrease activity.
Julian Evans-Pritchard at Capital Economics, commented:”We suspect that this largely reflects the boost to import values from the recent jump in commodity price inflation, but it also suggests that domestic demand remains resilient”.
