- Lu Ting, Bank of America Corp.'s head of Greater China economics
China's trade surplus rose to a record level in November, as the nation's export growth slowed and imports fell markedly. The trade data adds to recent evidence that suggests that the world's second biggest economy is slowing down and is unlikely to reach the 7.5% growth goal for 2015. China's overseas shipments rose 4.7% in November from a year earlier, much slower than an 11.6% growth in October and below expectations for an 8.2% increase. The country's imports dropped 6.7% in November, well below October's 4.6% rise, and below expectations for a 3.9% increase. That left the country with a trade surplus of $54.5 billion for the month, above expectations of US$43.5 billion. The slide in oil prices to the lowest level in five months offers China a double benefit as its leadership faces the weakest expansion in a generation. The drop could support economic growth and help keep inflation slow enough to provide room for further easing after last month's interest-rate cut. The People's Bank of China last month lowered lending and saving rates for the first time in two years and increased the ceiling for deposit rates. The ruling Politburo said it will keep a prudent monetary stance and maintain growth within a reasonable range in 2015.
The New Zealand Dollar traded more than 70 pips lower after the data release, while the Australian Dollar lost 20 pips, with each of the so-called commodity currencies weighed down by the data.
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