China's export slump eases in June as economies reopen

Beijing

The slump in China’s exports likely eased in June as some countries reopened their economies, while imports contracted less sharply on higher crude oil and commodities purchases. June exports from the world’s second-largest economy are expected to have contracted 1.5% from a year earlier, according to a median estimate from the survey of 32 economists, easing from a decline of 3.3% in May, a Reuters poll showed on Monday.

Imports likely fell 10.0% on year compared with a steep drop of 16.7% the previous month, due to higher purchases of crude oil and orders for infrastructure materials. Official and private factory surveys for June have shown the manufacturing sector recovery gathering more momentum.

Factories have ramped up production on an expansion in new orders, fueling expectations of an economic rebound faster than analysts previously forecasted. Factory-gate prices, for example, turned positive on a monthly basis last month.

Since mid-May, European countries and the United States have gradually eased their lockdowns, leading to increased shipments of some cargo backlogs previously stuck at Chinese ports and driving a relatively fast rebound in port throughput, said China Ports & Harbours Association in June.