China’s exports tumble 7.5% in May, far beyond market estimate

ANKARA

China’s exports plunged 7.5% year-on-year to $284 billion in May, showed official data on Wednesday, as the reading came much larger than the market estimate.

The market forecast was a 0.4% annual decline.

Reversing from an 8.5% hike in April, the outbound shipments posted the steepest decline in four months, according to China’s General Administration of Customs.

Chinese imports decreased 4.5% from a year ago to $218 billion in May, less than economists expected.

The country’s trade balance posted a surplus of $65.81 billion in May, down 16.1% from a year earlier.