China's May exports, imports seen recovering as supply chains restart

 

• China's exports are expected to have expanded at a faster pace in May as factories reopened and supply chain disruptions calmed after Shanghai began to emerge from a lockdown, while imports also likely rose, a Reuters poll showed. 
• The recovery adds to evidence the world's second-largest economy has begun to chart a path out of the supply-side shock that rocked world trade and global markets. However, China's trade outlook faces risks from factors such as high raw material costs, uncertainties from the Ukraine war and as recovering production overseas affects demand for Chinese goods. 
• Shanghai's COVID-19 lockdown, which officially ended on June 1, snarled logistics and regional supply chains but there are signs of a turnaround. Official data showed the average daily container throughput at the Port of Shanghai rose 7% in May from a month earlier. 
• Exports in May likely grew 8.0% from a year earlier, accelerating from a 3.9% expansion in April, according to a median forecast in a Reuters poll of 28 economists. Imports were expected to have risen 2% year-on-year in May, the poll showed, likely driven by imports of raw materials and intermediate goods as domestic production resumed. That compared with flat growth in April. China's trade surplus is likely to have widened to $58Bn from $51.12Bn in April.

(Source: Reuters)