Thursday 9 May 2013

China's trade jumps, German industrial production rises

There were some positive economic data out of China and Germany on Wednesday.

In China, the trade balance swung back into surplus in April after exports rose 14.7 percent from a year ago. Imports increased 16.8 percent from the previous year.

However, the trade data may have been too good to be true. From AFP/CNA:

"We believe the strong trade growth is not indicative of a growth recovery," said Zhang Zhiwei, a Hong Kong-based economist with Nomura International, said in a research note.

Importers and exporters may have overstated their business to seek to evade Chinese government controls on capital movements and channel funds into the country, he said...

Royal Bank of Scotland economist Louis Kuijs estimated China's exports rose only 5.7 per cent year-on-year in April after adjusting for discrepancies between data from China and figures from the importing markets.

Elsewhere, Germany reported on Wednesday that industrial production rose 1.2 percent in March. This followed a 0.6 percent increase in February.

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