China's exports dropped from a year earlier in May, despite an enormous rise in April, as the global health crisis continued to devastate the world economy and demand.
Exports fell 3.3 percent year-on-year last month, compared to a rise of 3.5 percent from the previous month, the General Customs Administration disclosed on Sunday. The drop was lower compared to a median projection of 6.5 percent made by economists.
After bringing activity to a standstill to curb the spread of coronavirus, the country has worked to reactivate its economy, but consumer demand has remained subdued and the main overseas markets in China are experiencing downturns.
Last month, exports from the industrial giant dropped 3.3 percent on-year, better than the 6.5 percent decline predicted by analysts. The return to the red zone came after an unexpected 3.5 percent climb in April, which was due in part to medical exports.
The gloomy trade readings for the world's second largest economy could stack strain on policymakers to introduce more support to a sector that is essential to over 180 million workers' livelihoods. Total trade constitutes about one-third of the country's economy.
Overseas deliveries in May weakened from a year earlier, customs data revealed on Sunday after a strong 3.5 percent rise in April. That compared with a forecast of a 7 percent drop in a poll by Reuters. The fall was conveyed by persistently low sentiment among exporters that had emerged in factory owners' official and private surveys.
The new component of the official index of manufacturing purchasing managers' (PMI) export orders was 35.3 for May, after a 33.5 reading in April. A number below 50 stands for contraction, then further below 50, the worse the producers' mood.
The mainland posted a $62.93 billion trade surplus last month, larger compared to April's $45.34 billion surplus and bigger than the $43.7 billion that economists estimated.
Cities in China have been carrying out new efforts to strengthen domestic demand, with Beijing disclosing last week it would offer coupons valued at 12.2 billion yuan ($1.7 billion) to boost consumption, Xinhua News reported.
China-US frictions have escalated anew the last few months as both countries exchanged barbs over the ongoing pandemic and other issues.
With both nations ravaged by the disease, economists have called into question their capacity to meet an earlier pledge from a partial trade agreement signed in January.
China's trade surplus with the US grew to $27.89 billion last month, Reuters estimation based on customs figures indicated.
