Boeing in bid to boost new 737

“The current strength of imports is unlikely to be sustained if, as we expect, slower credit growth feeds through into weaker economic activity in the coming quarters,” Capital Economics’s Julian Evans-Pritchard said.

“Export growth is also likely to edge down but should fare better than imports given the upbeat outlook for China’s main trading partners.”

Growth in both exports and imports accelerated from April, defying expectations of a slowdown.

Exports rose 8.7 percent from a year earlier, while imports expanded by 14.8 percent from the year earlier, official data showed yesterday.

That left the country with a trade surplus of $40.81 billion (R526.2bn) for the month, the General Administration of Customs said.

Analysts polled by Reuters had expected May shipments from the world’s largest exporter to have risen 7.0 percent, easing from 8.0 percent growth in April.

Imports had been expected to have climbed 8.5 percent, pulling back from 11.9 percent in April.

That was expected to produce a trade surplus of $46.32bn, widening from April’s $38.05bn.

Sources at two steel mills said they expect output to remain high as profit margins and demand are still strong BOEING is in talks with United Airlines and at least five other companies as the US planemaker tries to line up initial customers for its 737 Max 10 jetliner and gain ground on a fast-selling Airbus SE model, people familiar with the matter said. The roster of potential buyers of the largest-ever 737, which is expected to launch this month, spans the globe. Initial sales prospects include Indonesia’s Lion Mentari Airlines, the aircraft-leasing arm of China’s development bank, Jet Airways India, SpiceJet and Copa Holdings SA, said the people, who asked not to be named because they weren’t authorised to speak publicly about the negotiations. The US manufacturer is seeking a groundswell of orders to demonstrate the Max 10’s market appeal and strike back at the A321neo. – Bloomberg