MNI BRIEF: China October Exports Dip Further; Imports Up

China's exports decreased further in October, falling 6.4% to mark sixth straight monthly fall The decline was worse that the consensus looking for a 3.5% decrease and beat September's 6.2% decline.

The slide was driven mainly by the unstable external demand, data released by Customs Tuesday showed. Exports in the first ten months of 2023 totaled USD2.79 trillion. ASEAN countries -- accounting for 15.1% of total exports -- decreased by 5.3% y/y over the Jan-Oct period while those to the EU decreased 10.6%. U.S. still ranked the biggest export market, although exports growth declined 15.4% y/y.

Imports grew 3.0% y/y, the first increase in eight months, reversing some of last month's 6.2% y/y decrease and beat the market consensus of 5.0% y/y fall. The increase was led by purchases from EU and the US. Imports in the first ten months amounted to USD2.11 trillion.

The trade surplus over the January-October period was USD684.0 billion, with October contributing USD56.53 billion, which was the smallest surplus since February.