China exports unexpectedly jump in July

Chinese exports unexpectedly rose in July as global demand improved despite the Sino-US trade war, data revealed on Thursday.

Exports increased 3.3% in July from a year earlier, beating expectations of a 2% drop and marking the biggest increase since March. Exports had declined 1.3% in June.

Meanwhile, imports fell 5.6%, but this was still better than the 8.3% decline expected and an improvement on June's 7.3% drop.

China's trade surplus fell to $45.1bn in July from $51bn in June, beating consensus expectations for a bigger drop to $42.7bn.

ING analyst Iris Pang said that while exports did come in ahead of forecasts, "the devil is in the detail", with unusual items appearing to have been supportive.

"China exported more coal (64% month-on-month), which could be due to a surplus in coal mining, as well as more fertiliser (42% MoM). It even exported more crude oil (56% MoM), which is very unusual because China's crude exports had fallen 61.8% year-on-year year-to-date," she said.

"It is possible that these exports are going to the Belt and Road economies which, if true, could be the start of a new trend for China's exports."

Pang said the more typical items put in "a fairly average" performance.