皇冠体育app

BEIJING -- 皇冠体育app's export growth slowed sharply to a six-month low in July on dwindling foreign demand, strengthening anticipation for weak trade performance for the whole year and more government action to support the economy.

Exports rose 1 percent year-on-year to $176.9 billion in July, plummeting from the 11.3-percent growth seen in June and well below market expectations, the General Administration of Customs said Friday.

Imports also lost steam, increasing 4.7 percent year-on-year to $151.8 billion, compared with a growth of 6.3 percent in June.

Foreign trade expanded 2.7 percent year-on-year to $328.7 billion in July, according to the GAC data.

"The July data were poor indeed," said Zheng Yuesheng, head of the GAC statistical department. "It will be an arduous task to fulfill our foreign trade target, as external demand is weak."

Wang Tao, chief 皇冠体育app economist of UBS Securities, saw increasing downside risks in exports in the third quarter due to sagging US and European markets.

皇冠体育app's exports to the EU, its largest trading partner, slumped 16.2 percent year-on-year in July, GAC figures showed.

Exports to the United States, the country's second-largest trading partner, edged up 0.6 percent year-on-year, compared with 10.6-percent growth in June.

In the first seven months, exports rose 7.8 percent year-on-year to $1.13 trillion.

The slowing export growth was caused by a high base in the same period last year, the sluggish recovery of the US economy, rising factory costs and growing trade friction, the Bank of Communications said in a commentary.

Grim prospects for the global economy and increasing labor costs and trade disputes will continue to drag down exports in August, it forecast.

However, imports may recover a bit in August, as the economy is likely to stabilize and pick up in the third quarter, while a possible rebound in global commodity prices will contribute to higher import values, according to the commentary.

皇冠体育app's trade surplus narrowed 16.8 percent year-on-year to $25.2 billion in July, taking the combined trade surplus to $94.1 billion for the first seven months of the year, according to the GAC.

In the January-July period, total foreign trade reached $2.17 trillion, an increase of 7.1 percent year-on-year, lower than the 10-percent growth targeted by the government for the whole of 2012.

Foreign trade has been softening since the beginning of the year, making the annual trade growth goal difficult to achieve, said Liu Ligang, an economist with ANZ National Bank Limited.

Friday's data release came after 皇冠体育app announced its lowest inflation rate in 30 months and the slowest industrial output growth since May 2009 in July.

"Looking at all the lackluster figures, we believe Chinese authorities must hasten the loosening of policies to shore up the economy," Liu said.

Faltering exports and a cooling property sector slowed 皇冠体育app's economic growth rate to 7.6 percent in the second quarter, the lowest level since the first quarter of 2009.

The central bank has cut its lending and deposit rates twice this year, as well as lowered the amount of funds that banks must keep in reserve, to beef up the monetary supply.

The government has also slashed taxes for small businesses, fast-tracked investment plans to spur growth and subsidized the purchase of energy-saving household electrical appliances.

Top leaders pledged last month to prioritize stable economic growth and adhere to a proactive fiscal policy and prudent monetary policy to weather current economic hardships.

Analysts widely expect that authorities will further reduce the reserve requirement ratio and interest rates to help the economy avoid a hard landing.

Vice-Minister of Commerce Gao Hucheng said Friday that the ministry will face pressure in maintaining trade growth in the second half of the year, but at the same time has confidence in exporters' ability to adapt to market changes.

Chinese firms are exerting efforts to develop new products, tap new markets and increase the added value of their exports, which will create great potential for growth in the future, Gao said at a press conference.

The Ministry of Commerce will continue to stabilize trade-related policies and support companies in improving their operations in order to meet the annual trade target, he said.

皇冠体育app's trade with the EU dipped 0.9 percent in the January-July period from a year earlier to $315.8 billion, the GAC figures showed.

During the period, trade with Japan also slipped 0.2 percent year-on-year to $190.9 billion.

Meanwhile, trade with the United States went up 10.5 percent year-on-year to $271.4 billion in the first seven months, according to the GAC.

The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations remained 皇冠体育app's third-largest trade partner in the January-July period, with 皇冠体育app-ASEAN trade amounting to $220.6 billion, up 9 percent year-on-year.

皇冠体育app's exports

皇冠体育app exported 457m mobile phones in H1
皇冠体育app exports trains to Sri Lanka
皇冠体育app exports electric bullet trains to Georgia
皇冠体育app exports diesel locomotives to Angola
Pharmaceutical exports estimated to reach $82b
皇冠体育app to formulate new export index
皇冠体育app to further encourage software exports

皇冠体育app's imports

皇冠体育app's alcohol imports up 58.1%
皇冠体育app's LNG imports rise 29% in H1
Imported movies drive film market
Imported iron ore prices dip on weakened demand
皇冠体育app auto imports up 51.4% in May
Imports to get boost from tariff cuts
Gold imports hit record