China’s Nov exports surprise

beijing — China’s exports and imports unexpectedly accelerated last month in an encouraging sign for the world’s secondbiggest economy, though analysts expect growth to continue cooling amid a government crackdown on financial risks and polluting factories.

As global demand has surprised with its strength, consumers have lapped up Chinese goods at a rapid rate this year, giving the economy a boost and providing policy makers room to tighten rules to curb high-risk lending.

Exports in November rose 12.3 per cent year-on-year, the fastest pace in eight months, led by strong sales of electronics and high-tech goods, while commodity purchases helped lift imports. The beat analysts’ forecast of a five per cent rise and compared with 6.9 per cent growth in October.

Imports grew 17.7 per cent year-on-year in November, the General Administration of Customs said on Friday, also well above expectations of 11.3 per cent growth and rising at the fastest pace since September.

The numbers may help to ease concerns of slowing momentum in China, which had surprised markets with robust growth of nearly 6.9 per cent in the first nine months of this year, thanks to a government-led infrastructure spending spree and unexpected strength in exports.

“While we still expect China’s domestic economy to cool in 2018 on gradually tighter financial policies, the November import data shows that there are upside risks to our China outlook”, said Louis Kuijs, head of Asia economics at Oxford Economics in Hong Kong. —