China’s exports surge in February showing its resilience despite trade-war fears
Beijing — China’s exports unexpectedly surged at the fastest pace in three years in February, suggesting both its economy and global growth remain resilient even as trade relations with the US rapidly deteriorate. Trade tensions have jumped to the top of the list of risks facing China this year, with planned US tariffs on steel and aluminium signaling more measures may be on the way, Zhou Hao, senior emerging-markets economist at Commerzbank, told the Reuters Global Markets Forum this week. China’s February exports rose 44.5% from a year earlier, far more than analysts’ median forecast for a 13.6% increase and January’s 11.1% gain, official data showed on Thursday. Imports grew 6.3%, missing forecasts for 9.7% growth and down from a sharper-than-expected 36.9% jump in January. Analysts caution that Chinese data early in the year can be heavily distorted by the timing of the Lunar New Year holiday, which fell in February this year but in January in 2017. However, combined January and...
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