China’s May exports rise 7.6%, imports increase 1.8% By Reuters

BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s exports rose 7.6% year-on-year by value in May, while imports increased 1.8%, customs data showed on Friday.

A Reuters poll of economists had forecast 6.0% growth in exports and a 4.2% increase in imports, compared with 1.5% and 8.4%, respectively, in the previous month.

Over recent months, a flurry of data has shown different parts of the $18.6 trillion economy recovering at varying speeds.

While first quarter growth blew past forecasts and strong March export and output data suggested improving global demand might aid officials’ efforts to get the economy back on a more even keel, more recent indicators reflecting soft domestic consumption have eroded much of that earlier optimism.