China's Exports Rise Less Than Forecast; Imports Rebound

China's exports grew less than expected at the start of the third quarter, while imports rebounded on domestic demand, official data showed Wednesday.

Exports posted an annual growth of 7.0 percent in July, the customs data revealed. This was weaker than the forecast of 9.7 percent and followed an 8.6 percent expansion in June.

On the other hand, imports surged 7.2 percent annually, reversing the 2.3 percent decrease in June and also stronger than consensus of 3.5 percent increase.

As a result, the trade surplus narrowed to $84.65 billion from $99.05 billion in June. The surplus was seen at $97.5 billion.

Capital Economics' economist Zichun Huang said the slowdown in exports growth was mainly due to lower export prices. Exports are set to stay robust in the coming months, the economist added.

The renminbi has recently appreciated against the dollar due to a sharp drop in the US interest rate expectations but this is unlikely to have a negative impact, Huang noted.

Further, imports will pick up further in the coming months as a step-up in fiscal support should boost import-intensive construction activities, the economist said.

Exports to the United States and the European Union grew by around 8 percent each in July. At the same time, shipments to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations logged about 12 percent increase. Meanwhile, exports to Russia dropped nearly 3 percent on year.

Earlier in July, the EU had imposed extra duties on Chinese electric cars citing unfair state subsidies. Fears of recession in the US and the weakness of the US dollar could weigh on Chinese exports, which acted as a growth engine over the first half of the year.