Fall in China exports and imports surprise analysts

China’s exports and imports fell in March, Bloomberg reported. Exports declined 6.6% from a year earlier, the customs administration said in Beijing today, compared with the median estimate for a 4.8% increase in a Bloomberg News survey of 47 economists. Imports fell 11.3%, leaving a trade surplus of US$7.71 billion. China’s export data have been distorted by inflated numbers in early 2013, when some companies filed fake invoices to disguise capital inflows. According to the official figures, exports fell 18.1% in February from a year earlier, the biggest drop since the global financial crisis.