This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/09/business/global/chinese-imports-and-exports-soar-in-january.html

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Chinese Imports and Exports Soar in January Chinese Imports and Exports Soar in January
(about 7 hours later)
HONG KONG — January trade data from China on Friday showed a surge in exports and imports from a year earlier — a phenomenon that was largely due to the timing of the Lunar New Year holiday, but that also supported the view that the Chinese economy is firming. HONG KONG — January trade data from China on Friday showed a surge in exports and imports from the levels of a year earlier — a phenomenon largely due to the timing of the Lunar New Year holiday but also supporting the view that the Chinese economy is firming up.
Economic data from China are often severely distorted by the holiday, the highlight of the Chinese calendar, when many factories shut down for a week or more. Economic data from China are often severely distorted by the holiday, when many factories shut down for a week or more.
The holiday this year takes place in February — the first day of the Lunar New Year is on Sunday — but last year it fell squarely in January, cutting down on the number of working days during that month. The holiday this year takes place in February — the first day of the Lunar New Year is Sunday. Last year it fell squarely in January, cutting down on the number of working days during that month.
The trade data released Friday reflected this with a large increase compared with the year before, as analysts had expected. Exports climbed 25 percent from January 2012, according to the General Administration of Customs, and imports soared 28.8 percent. The trade data released Friday reflected this with a large increase, compared with the year before, as analysts had expected. Exports climbed 25 percent from January 2012, according to the General Administration of Customs, and imports rose 28.8 percent.
Both figures beating expectations by a wide margin, however, supported the view that the rise was also caused in part by healthier domestic and overseas demand. The increases were much lower when adjusted for the holiday-induced differences in the number of working days, with exports up 12.4 percent and imports just 3.4 percent higher.
“This strong export number cannot be fully explained by the Chinese New Year effect alone,” Zhiwei Zhang, chief China economist at Nomura in Hong Kong, said in a research note. Still, the data beat expectations by a wide margin, supporting the view that healthier domestic and overseas demand also had been significant.
“These data suggest that external and domestic demand are both strong, which supports our view that the economy is on track for a cyclical recovery” in the first half of this year, he added. “This strong export number cannot be fully explained by the Chinese New Year effect alone,” Zhiwei Zhang, chief China economist at Nomura in Hong Kong, said in a research note. “These data suggest that external and domestic demand are both strong, which supports our view that the economy is on track for a cyclical recovery” in the first half of this year, he added.
Dariusz Kowalcyk, an economist at Crédit Agricole in Hong Kong, said “we need to wait for February results to have the full picture of trade at the start of 2013.” Dariusz Kowalczyk, an economist at Crédit Agricole in Hong Kong, said, “We need to wait for February results to have the full picture of trade at the start of 2013.” However, he added, “one trend is clear: exports have been doing very well recently. This may be a sign of improved external demand but is also a testimony to the resilience of Chinese exporters and to their competitiveness.”
However, he added, “one trend is clear: exports have been doing very well recently. This may be a sign of improved external demand, but is also a testimony to the resilience of Chinese exporters and to their competitiveness.” Improved overseas demand and a string of government-mandated stimulus measures have gradually propped up growth and dispelled fears of a hard landing in China. While the Chinese economy expanded just 7.8 percent last year — down from 9.3 percent in 2011 and 10.4 percent in 2010 — many analysts expect growth to top 8 percent again in 2013.
The Chinese economy has been accelerating gradually in the past few months, reversing a marked slowdown that had raised fears of a possible “hard landing” in China early last year. Central bank data Friday that showed ample money had continued to flood into the economy also supported this view. Banks extended 1.07 trillion renminbi, or $172 billion, in new loans during January, more than analysts had expected. Total “social financing aggregate” in the economy, a broad measure of liquidity, or the ease of trading assets, more than doubled from a year earlier, to 2.54 trillion renminbi.
Improved overseas demand, combined with a string of government-mandated stimulus measures, have gradually propped up growth and dispelled those fears. That figure, Mr. Kowalczyk commented, was a “blowout number.”
Data released last month showed the Chinese economy expanded just 7.8 percent last year — down from 9.3 percent in 2011 and 10.4 percent in 2010 — but many analysts expect slightly faster growth again in 2013. Like other data released Friday, the financing figure was lifted by the Lunar New Year effects, but even without these, Mr. Kowalczyk said, it was a “huge amount of funding” and would sustain solid economic growth in the near term at least.
Longer term, he cautioned, it would also “stoke inflationary pressures,” and could lead the central bank to tighten monetary policy further down the line as it seeks to stave off inflationary pressures.
For now, inflation remains benign. Consumer prices rose just 2 percent in January from a year earlier, a moderation from the 2.5 percent year-on-year increase in December. The low inflation number, released Friday, was in line with forecasts, but analysts widely expect a rebound in February.