China Imports Shrank in August

China’s imports shrank unexpectedly in August in a sign its economic slump is worsening, bad news for exporters elsewhere that count on the appetite of the world’s second-largest economy for natural resources and industrial components to offset anemic Western markets.

The Chinese president warned growth could slow further, prompting expectations of possible new stimulus spending.

Imports declined 2.6 percent from a year earlier, below analysts’ expectations of growth in low single digits, data showed Monday. That came on top of August’s decline in factory output to a three-year low and other signs growth is still decelerating despite repeated stimulus efforts.

Analysts expect Chinese growth that fell to a three-year low of 7.6 percent in the latest quarter to rebound late this year or in early 2013. But they say it likely will be too weak to drive a global recovery without improvement in the United States, which is struggling with a sluggish recovery, and debt-crippled Europe.

President Hu Jintao cited slack exports and unbalanced domestic growth as challenges for a Chinese recovery.

“Pressure for economic growth to slow is obvious,” Hu said at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Vladivostok, Russia, according to a text released by the Chinese government.

via Mainichi

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Alfonso Esparza

Alfonso Esparza

Senior Currency Analyst at Market Pulse
Alfonso Esparza specializes in macro forex strategies for North American and major currency pairs. Upon joining OANDA in 2007, Alfonso Esparza established the MarketPulseFX blog and he has since written extensively about central banks and global economic and political trends. Alfonso has also worked as a professional currency trader focused on North America and emerging markets. He has been published by The MarketWatch, Reuters, the Wall Street Journal and The Globe and Mail, and he also appears regularly as a guest commentator on networks including Bloomberg and BNN. He holds a finance degree from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM) and an MBA with a specialization on financial engineering and marketing from the University of Toronto.
Alfonso Esparza