According to data released by the General Administration of Customs of China on Tuesday morning, in US dollars, China's exports decreased by 6.4% year-on-year in October, while imports increased by 3%. The trade surplus was 56.53 billion US dollars, narrowing by 30.8%.
Compared to the previous value, the decline in exports slightly expanded in October, with imports unexpectedly turning positive and the trade surplus narrowing.
Prior to September, both exports and imports decreased by 6.2% year-on-year, with a trade surplus of 77.71 billion US dollars.
This means that China's exports have recorded a sixth consecutive month of decline, but imports have achieved positive growth after five consecutive declines.
Previously, exports decreased by 8.8% and imports decreased by 7.3% in August; In July, exports decreased by 14.5% year-on-year, while imports decreased by 12.4%. Exports in June and May decreased by 12.4% and 7.5% respectively.
In March of this year, China's exports unexpectedly surged by 14.8%, ending the continuous negative growth since October last year, but imports decreased by 1.4%; In April, exports increased by 8.5%, while imports decreased by 7.9%.
Compared with market expectations, the export decline in October was higher than market expectations, imports were significantly stronger than expected, and the trade surplus was lower than expected.
According to a survey of economists by The Wall Street Journal, China's exports are expected to decline by 3.5% year-on-year in October, while imports are expected to decline by 4.8%, with an expected trade surplus of 82.33 billion US dollars.
In terms of cumulative data, in US dollars, exports decreased by 5.6% year-on-year from January to October, imports decreased by 6.5%, and trade surplus reached 684.04 billion US dollars, narrowing by 2.7%.
Previously, from January to September, exports decreased by 5.7% year-on-year, imports decreased by 7.5%, and a trade surplus of 630.3 billion US dollars.
In US dollars, in 2022, China's exports increased by 7.0% year-on-year, imports increased by 1.1%, and a trade surplus of 877.6 billion US dollars.
Chinese customs also simultaneously released data priced in RMB.
In RMB terms, China's exports decreased by 3.1% in October, while imports increased by 6.4%. The trade surplus was 405.47 billion yuan, narrowing by 27.9%.
Prior to September, exports decreased by 0.6% year-on-year, imports decreased by 0.8%, and a trade surplus of 558.74 billion yuan; In August, exports decreased by 3.2% year-on-year, while imports decreased by 1.6%.
In July of this year, exports decreased by 9.2% year-on-year, imports decreased by 6.9%, and exports decreased by 8.3% and 0.8% year-on-year in June and May; But exports increased significantly by 16.8% and 23.4% in April and March, respectively.
Overall, from January to October, exports increased by 0.4% year-on-year, imports decreased by 0.5%, and trade surplus reached 4.78 trillion yuan, expanding by 3.2%.
Previously, exports increased by 0.6% year-on-year from January to September, while imports decreased by 1.2%, achieving a trade surplus of 4402.93 billion yuan.
In RMB terms, in 2022, exports increased by 10.5% year-on-year, imports increased by 4.3%, and a trade surplus of 5862.98 billion yuan.