MarketNeutral
9th April 2010, 10:46 PM
China reported a $7.24 billion trade deficit in March, its first in almost six years, though the trend is likely to be short-lived.
The March deficit the government reported Saturday was China's first since it recorded a $2.26 billion deficit in April 2004.
The return to deficit after many years of surplus could help ease pressure on China to allow the value of its currency to rise against the dollar -- a key source of contention with the U.S. and other trading partners.
The trade surpluses had narrowed for four straight months.
But even China's minister of commerce, Chen Deming, described March's deficit as only a "blip on the radar," the state-run newspaper China Daily said Friday.
Market trends are the main factor determining the trade balance, said Chen, who had said earlier that China expected to announce a deficit for March.
Exports totaled $112.11 billion in March, up 24.3 percent from a year earlier. Imports reached US$119.35 billion, up 66 percent compared to the same period last year, the Customs Administration said in data posted on its Web site.
In the first three months of this year, China still posted a global trade surplus of $14.5 billion, down 76.7 percent from the first quarter of 2009. The trade surplus was $7.6 billion in February and the combined January-February surplus was $21.8 billion.
China saw its exports plunge last year as demand evaporated in markets stricken by the global recession.
To ensure on-time deliveries, Chinese manufacturers typically step up production and shipments ahead of the lunar new year, a major holiday which fell in mid-February this year, noted Jing Ulrich, head of China equities for J.P.Morgan.
"China's trade deficit will likely prove temporary. With an anticipated recovery in developed economies this year, Chinese exports should improve gradually over the coming months," Ulrich said in a note to clients.
Economists say the deficit for March reflected relatively weak exports to the United States and other major markets still struggling to recover. Strong imports of commodities and components to fuel China's own booming industrial sector contributed to the 66 percent jump in imports -- albeit from a relatively low base the year before when China was also just emerging from a slowdown.
"Surging raw materials prices, for crude oil, iron ore, and nonferrous metals, which China buys a lot of for its own strong domestic economy, are another factor," said An Yun, an analyst at Chang Xin Asset Management.
China recorded a $9.87 billion trade surplus with the United States in March and a $30.7 billion surplus for the first quarter, the customs figures showed.
Exports to the United States rose nearly 20 percent in March year-on-year, while imports climbed 43 percent.
China's trade surplus with the European Union was $7 billion in March and $29.3 billion for the first three months of the year.
Critics say China's yuan is undervalued by up to 40 percent, giving its exporters an unfair advantage and swelling its trade surplus.
Beijing tied the yuan to the dollar for decades but broke that link in 2005, allowing it to rise by about 20 percent through late 2008. The government slammed on the brakes after the crisis hit and has since held its currency steady against the greenback, saying China cannot afford further change after losing millions of factory jobs to the plunge in global demand.
Some U.S. lawmakers have pushed for President Barack Obama to have China declared a currency manipulator in a Treasury Department report that was due out this month and could have added to tensions between the two countries over their chronic trade imbalance.
In a conciliatory gesture, Washington postponed the report ahead of a visit by President Hu Jintao to the U.S. to attend a nuclear conference. Following a brief stopover in Beijing by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner for talks with a top Chinese official, Wang Qishan, many expect Beijing to allow at least a modest change in the yuan's value.
Chinese officials insist that the yuan's stability is crucial because the trade sector remains vulnerable to weaknesses elsewhere.
"China has to be prepared for the uncertainties on the global market as they would create problems and pressure for the nation," Chen, the commerce minister, was quoted as saying.
http://www.vcstar.com/news/2010/apr/09/xinhua-news-agency-says-china-had-724b-trade-in/
The March deficit the government reported Saturday was China's first since it recorded a $2.26 billion deficit in April 2004.
The return to deficit after many years of surplus could help ease pressure on China to allow the value of its currency to rise against the dollar -- a key source of contention with the U.S. and other trading partners.
The trade surpluses had narrowed for four straight months.
But even China's minister of commerce, Chen Deming, described March's deficit as only a "blip on the radar," the state-run newspaper China Daily said Friday.
Market trends are the main factor determining the trade balance, said Chen, who had said earlier that China expected to announce a deficit for March.
Exports totaled $112.11 billion in March, up 24.3 percent from a year earlier. Imports reached US$119.35 billion, up 66 percent compared to the same period last year, the Customs Administration said in data posted on its Web site.
In the first three months of this year, China still posted a global trade surplus of $14.5 billion, down 76.7 percent from the first quarter of 2009. The trade surplus was $7.6 billion in February and the combined January-February surplus was $21.8 billion.
China saw its exports plunge last year as demand evaporated in markets stricken by the global recession.
To ensure on-time deliveries, Chinese manufacturers typically step up production and shipments ahead of the lunar new year, a major holiday which fell in mid-February this year, noted Jing Ulrich, head of China equities for J.P.Morgan.
"China's trade deficit will likely prove temporary. With an anticipated recovery in developed economies this year, Chinese exports should improve gradually over the coming months," Ulrich said in a note to clients.
Economists say the deficit for March reflected relatively weak exports to the United States and other major markets still struggling to recover. Strong imports of commodities and components to fuel China's own booming industrial sector contributed to the 66 percent jump in imports -- albeit from a relatively low base the year before when China was also just emerging from a slowdown.
"Surging raw materials prices, for crude oil, iron ore, and nonferrous metals, which China buys a lot of for its own strong domestic economy, are another factor," said An Yun, an analyst at Chang Xin Asset Management.
China recorded a $9.87 billion trade surplus with the United States in March and a $30.7 billion surplus for the first quarter, the customs figures showed.
Exports to the United States rose nearly 20 percent in March year-on-year, while imports climbed 43 percent.
China's trade surplus with the European Union was $7 billion in March and $29.3 billion for the first three months of the year.
Critics say China's yuan is undervalued by up to 40 percent, giving its exporters an unfair advantage and swelling its trade surplus.
Beijing tied the yuan to the dollar for decades but broke that link in 2005, allowing it to rise by about 20 percent through late 2008. The government slammed on the brakes after the crisis hit and has since held its currency steady against the greenback, saying China cannot afford further change after losing millions of factory jobs to the plunge in global demand.
Some U.S. lawmakers have pushed for President Barack Obama to have China declared a currency manipulator in a Treasury Department report that was due out this month and could have added to tensions between the two countries over their chronic trade imbalance.
In a conciliatory gesture, Washington postponed the report ahead of a visit by President Hu Jintao to the U.S. to attend a nuclear conference. Following a brief stopover in Beijing by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner for talks with a top Chinese official, Wang Qishan, many expect Beijing to allow at least a modest change in the yuan's value.
Chinese officials insist that the yuan's stability is crucial because the trade sector remains vulnerable to weaknesses elsewhere.
"China has to be prepared for the uncertainties on the global market as they would create problems and pressure for the nation," Chen, the commerce minister, was quoted as saying.
http://www.vcstar.com/news/2010/apr/09/xinhua-news-agency-says-china-had-724b-trade-in/