Chinese exports continue to decline in February

According to the country's customs administration, the year-to-date trade surplus came in at $116.9bn in February (consensus: $82.5bn).

Exports shrank at a year-on-year rate of 6.8% (consensus: -9.0%), while imports were down by 10.2% (consensus: -5.5%).

The country's exports to other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations expanded by 17.9% ytd in yuan terms, even as those to the US dropped by 15.2% and those to the European Union by 5%.

Automobile exports were strongest, jumping by 78.9% ytd as order backlogs were run down.

Overseas sales of products including clothing, textiles and plastic were "lacklustre", said Duncan Wrigley, chief China+ economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, pointing to soft global demand.

According to Wrigley, Chinese exports were likely to keep falling, even if at a more moderate clip, over the first half of 2023.

The economist pointed to the latest South Korean export numbers to back up his claim, saying that they pointed to "sustained weak" global demand, although the downturn in certain key markets appeared to be softening.

Chinese imports meanwhile were expected to see a moderate pick-up as the economy reopened.