REUTERS/Aly Song/File PhotoBEIJING (Reuters) - China’s exports fell 8.8% in August year-on-year, while imports contracted 7.3%, customs data showed on Thursday, increasing pressure on the country’s vast manufacturing sector as demand sags at home and abroad.
A Reuters poll of economists had forecast a fall of 9.2% in exports and a drop of 9.0% in imports.
The world’s second-largest economy risks missing Beijing’s annual growth target of about 5% as officials wrestle with a worsening property slump, weak consumer spending and tumbling credit growth, leading analysts to downgrade growth forecasts for the year.
South Korean shipments to China, a leading indicator of the latter’s imports, dropped just a fifth last month, softening from a decrease of 27.5% a month earlier.
China posted a trade surplus of $68.36 billion in August, compared with a forecast $73.80 billion and a July figure of $80.6 billion.
Persons:
Aly
Organizations:
REUTERS
Locations:
Shanghai, China, BEIJING, Beijing