China's Trade Surplus Widened 71% in First Quarter as Exports Rallied, US Imports Fell
Tang Shihua
DATE:  Apr 12 2019
/ SOURCE:  yicai

(Yicai Global) April 12 --  China's trade surplus widened massively in the first quarter, partly  spurred by declining imports from the US and strengthening exports in  the month of March.

The positive balance of  trade increased 71 percent from a year ago to USD76.3 billion in the  first three months of this year, China's customs revealed today. The  value of exports rose 1.4 percent to USD551.76 billion, while that of  imports dipped nearly 5 percent to USD475.4 billion.

In March, exports  increased a whopping 14.2 percent to USD198.7 billion, while imports  dropped 7.6 percent to USD166 billion. The strong data is in stark  contrast with the previous month when exports fell almost 21 percent.

The value of China's  exports to the US declined 3.7 percent to CNY291.4 billion(USD43.49 billion) in the first  quarter. Imports from the States fell 28.3 percent to CNY193.4 billion.  In March, the tally of US-bound exports increased 0.1 percent to  CNY291.4 billion while that of imports from the States fell 21 percent  to CNY76.4 billion.

Editor: Emmi Laine 

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Keywords:   Trade Surplus,Trade Data,Economic Data,GACC,China-US Trade