China Reports Unexpected Increase In Exports, Imports For June

On Tuesday, China's customs data showed an unexpected 0.5 percent increase in exports for June, when compared to the same month a year ago. Its imports in June rose 2.7 percent year-on-year. The country said that these were dollar-denominated exports and imports.

An analysts poll by Reuters had forecast 1.5 percent fall in exports after a 3.3 percent drop seen in May. Imports were estimated to contract 10 percent when compared to 16.7 percent drop in May.

China had posted a trade surplus of $46.42 billion in June, compared with the poll's forecast for a $58.60 billion surplus and $62.93 billion surplus in May.

Earlier, China published customs data that showed yuan-denominated exports in June rose 4.3% from a year ago, while imports jumped 6.2% in the same period.

The jump in imports showed that China's domestic demand remained strong, analysts said.

The June data also showed that China's trade surplus with the US widened to $29.41 billion, compared to $27.89 billion in May, according to Reuters. Tensions between the two largest economies in the world have worsened this year, as American President Donald Trump blames China for the pandemic, and in the last week, he said that he wasn't even thinking about phase two of their trade deal.