China’s exports slowed markedly in April, while imports remained stable, as COVID-19 health measures caused production to stop at factories, disrupt supply chains and lead to a fall in domestic demand.
According to official data released on Monday, exports rose 3.9% year on year in April, compared to growth of 14.7% the previous month, the lowest since June 2020. Analysts had expected an increase of 3.2%.
Imports remained stable, showing a slight improvement after their decline of 0.1% in March and beating the consensus which came out at -3.0%.
China’s trade balance posted a surplus of $51.12 billion last month, while analysts polled by Archyde.com had expected a surplus of $50.65 billion from $47.38 billion in March.
Faced with the unprecedented resurgence of the coronavirus epidemic, Beijing has imposed strict health measures, resulting in bottlenecks in the country’s ports and highways, while the activity of dozens of cities has been reduced, in particular the Shanghai commercial hub.