China’s March trade weakens, surplus with US at $15.4B
BEIJING — China’s global trade balance swung to a rare deficit in March as exports shrank but its surplus with the United States, the centre of a worsening dispute with Washington, stood at $15.4 billion.
Exports contracted 2.7 per cent from a year earlier to $174.1 billion in a possible sign of weak global demand, down from the 24.4 per cent growth for the first two months of 2018, customs data showed Friday.
Imports rose 14.4 per cent to $179.1 billion, though that was down from 21.7 per cent growth in January and February in a possible indication of slower Chinese demand.
The trade surplus with the United States contracted 13 per cent from a year earlier, while China’s global trade balance swung to a $5 billion deficit.