China’s Trade Balance: Surplus shrinks in October amid unexpected imports surge

China's Trade Balance for October, in Chinese Yuan terms, came in at CNY405.47 billion versus the previous reading of CNY558.74 billion.

Exports dropped 3.1% YoY in October vs. -0.6% seen in September. The country’s imports jumped 6.4% YoY in the reported month vs. -0.8% prior.

In US Dollar terms, China’s trade surplus unexpectedly narrowed in October.

Trade Balance came in at +56.53B versus +81.95B expected and +77.71B previous.

Exports (YoY): -6.4% vs. -3.1% exp. and -6.2% previous.

Imports (YoY): 3.0% vs. -5.4% exp. and -6.2% last.

Additional takeaways

China Jan-Oct USD-denominated exports -5.6% YoY.

China Jan-Oct USD-denominated Imports -6.5% YoY.

China Jan-Oct Trade Balance +$684.04 Bln.

China’s Oct trade surplus with the US stands at $30.82 billion vs. a $33.19 bln surplus in September.

FX implications

AUD/USD is off the lows on mixed China’s trade figures. The pair is flat on the day, trading at 0.6487 at the time of writing.