The Wall Street Journal reports that China’s export growth accelerated to 12.7% as tariff threats loom. They write:
China’s exports rose at a faster-than-expected pace last month, extending their growth streak and providing crucial support for an economy struggling to regain momentum.
Outbound shipments rose 12.7% from a year earlier in October, up sharply from the 2.4% increase in September, the General Administration of Customs said Thursday. […]
The much faster than expected export growth could be driven partly by exporters’ front-loading of shipments to cushion the impact of a potential trade war next year, said Zhiwei Zhang, an economist at Pinpoint Asset Management. […]
Donald Trump’s return to the White House will likely give Chinese exports a boost in the short run as U.S. importers increase their purchases to get ahead of potential tariffs, Huang said.[…]
The trade figures come a day before China’s legislators are expected to give the green light to a big fiscal stimulus package, which could ramp up spending and support for the country’s ailing property sector.
The highly-anticipated move could boost demand for China’s imports of industrial commodities over the next couple of quarters, Capital Economics’ Huang said.
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