- Frederic Neumann, co-head of Asian economic research at HSBC Holdings Plc
China's trade surplus swelled, as exports increased for the first time in six months, while imports dropped for the 14th straight month. The nation's trade surplus widened to $60 billion in December, taking the full year tally to $594.5. Exports rose 2.3% in the report month from a year ago, compared with economists' forecast for a 4.1% decline. However, outbound shipping declined 1.4% in US Dollar terms. The surge in exports last month may appear to be temporary one due to seasonal jump at the end of the year and it does not represent a trend.
Imports extended a stretch of declines to 14 months, plunging 4% in yuan terms, following a 5.6% decrease a month earlier. In US Dollar terms, imports plunged 7.6% from a year earlier, against expectations for a 11% drop. China imported a record number of crude last year, as oil's lowest annual average price in more than a decade encouraged stockpiling and boosted demand from independent refiners. Being the world's largest energy consumer, China increased imports 8.8% to a record 334 million metric tons in 2015. The fresh data came as somewhat a relief to policy makers after China's recent run of disappointing news, which caused a 13% equity price plunge since the beginning of the year.
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