2017.11.0801:00:00UTC+00China's Exports Expand Less Than Forecast

China's exports grew at a slower-than-expected pace in October, while imports surged on domestic demand, official data showed Wednesday.

In dollar terms, exports climbed 6.9 percent year-over-year in October, data from the General Administration of Customs revealed.

Shipments were forecast to climb 7.1 percent after rising 8.1 percent in September.

Meanwhile, imports surged 17.2 percent in October from a year ago, faster than the expected growth of 17.0 percent.

Consequently, the trade surplus totaled $38.2 billion in October versus the expected level of $39.1 billion. At the same time, the trade surplus with the U.S. decreased to $26.6 billion.

In renminbi terms, exports advanced 6.1 percent and imports climbed 15.9 percent annually. Economists had forecast 7.9 percent rise in exports and 19 percent increase in imports.

Most of the decline in annual growth was due to shifts in the timing of the Mid-Autumn Festival which meant that there were fewer working days last month than in October 2016, Julian Evans-Pritchard, an economist at Capital Economics, said.

The big picture is that both outbound and inbound shipments have softened recently, a trend that continued last month, the economist added.

The economist said this reflects a slight easing of growth in other emerging markets along with weaker domestic demand as a result of slower infrastructure spending.