Export Data News
- January-May trade surplus to hit US$85.72 billion
Date: 11-Jun-2007 Sources: (Shenzhen Daily)
CHINA had a trade surplus of US$85.72 billion in the first five months of 2007, up more than 80 percent from the same period a year before, a commerce ministry official said Saturday.
Exports in the first five months were US$443.5 billion, while imports in the same period totaled US$357.8 billion, Yang Hongbin, a vice special commissioner with the Ministry of Commerce, said in a speech to an industry conference in Shanghai.
The figures suggested that China's trade surplus in May was US$22.41 billion, exceeding forecasts of US$18.8 billion by economists polled by Reuters.
May trade figures are expected to be announced Tuesday by the customs administration but could come earlier.
April's trade surplus was US$16.9 billion, taking the figure in the first four months of the year to US$63.31 billion.
'At such acceleration, I think China's surplus could hit US$110 billion in the first half of this year,'Yang said.
Yang also said China steel exports in May dropped to 6.17 million tons from April's record 7.16 million tons, in part due to a week-long public holiday at the start of the month.
China's steel products exports soared 117 percent to 27.44 million tons in the first five months of the year, Yang said, spurred partly by purchases from Iran and other Middle East countries.
Imports of steel products into China were 7.28 million tons in the first five months, Yang said, indicating China's steel trade surplus stood at 20.16 million tons for the period.
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