Sharjah24 - Reuters: China's exports grew at a double-digit pace in May, shattering expectations, while imports expanded for the first time in three months as factories resumed production and logistics snags eased after authorities relaxed some of the COVID curbs in Shanghai.
The stronger-than-expected headline figures add to encouraging signs that the world's second-largest economy has started to chart a path out of the supply-side shock that has rocked global trade and financial markets in recent months.
However, China's trade outlook faces risks from factors such as high raw material costs and uncertainties from the Ukraine war. Recovering production in other economies also could affect demand for Chinese goods.
Outbound shipments in May jumped 16.9% from a year earlier, the fastest growth since January this year, and more than double analysts' expectations for a 8.0% rise. Exports were up 3.9% in April.
Economic activity cooled sharply in April as the country grappled with the worst COVID-19 outbreak since 2020. Stringent lockdown measures, sometimes excessively enforced by local officials, had clogged highways and ports, stranded workers and shut factories.
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