By Jamil Anderlini,(FT) -- China's trade balance rebounded strongly in April as exports surged and imports came in lower than expected, according to figures released by Beijing on Tuesday.
The trade surplus hit $11.4bn in April, far larger than most analysts expected and well above the surplus of $140m in March.
China recorded its first quarterly trade deficit in seven years in the January to March period but the unexpectedly large surplus in April will increase international pressure on Beijing to allow faster appreciation of its tightly controlled currency, the renminbi.
Top Chinese officials, including Wang Qishan, the vice-premier in charge of finance, are currently in Washington for the bilateral Strategic and Economic Dialogue, where the value of the renminbi has been a key topic of discussion.
"Today's trade data shows that Chinese exporters continue to benefit from a supportive exchange rate," said Brian Jackson, an economist at Royal Bank of Canada in Hong Kong. "This number will likely add to the pressure from Washington for Beijing to allow faster currency appreciation, but more importantly should persuade Chinese policy-makers that a stronger [renminbi] can be tolerated by the economy and is warranted as part of their efforts to curb price pressures."
China's central bank governor and other officials have made statements that indicate greater willingness to use appreciation of the renminbi to help tackle persistent inflation, which the government has said is its key economic task for this year.
The renminbi has gained about 2.3 per cent against the US dollar in the last six months but has lost significant ground against other major currencies as the dollar has weakened.
On a seasonally adjusted basis Chinese exports increased 35.1 per cent in April from the same month a year earlier and grew 12.3 per cent from March, the customs bureau said.
Seasonally adjusted imports in April rose 27.4 per cent from a year earlier and 7.4 per cent from the previous month.
Analysts were divided over whether weaker-than-expected imports signalled a slowdown in the Chinese economy in April or whether already large inventories in the country had allowed Chinese companies to put off commodity imports at a time when prices were unusually high.
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