Chinese 100-yuan banknotes are seen in this picture illustration created in Beijing July 11.Reuters/Jason Lee
China’s merchandise trade surplus narrowed to $15.2 billion in September from $28.6 billion in August, data released by the country’s General Administration of Customs showed Saturday. The figure was significantly lower than $26.2 billion forecast by analysts polled by Bloomberg News before the data release.
Exports fell 0.3 percent in September on a year-on-year basis, compared with a rise of 7.2 percent in August and well below the expected increase of 5.5 percent.
In contrast, imports rose 7.4 percent in September on a year-on-year basis, compared with a rise of 7.0 percent in August and above the expected increase of 7.0 percent.
