China cautious about nation’s export sector

PanARMENIAN.Net - China’s Ministry of Commerce sounded a note of caution on the nation’s export sector Friday, Oct 19, saying there’s no conclusive sign of a recovery in place, while data on foreign direct investment inflows showed an ongoing decline in September, MarketWatch reports.

Commerce Ministry spokesman Shen Danyang told reporters Friday that the trade situation was “steadily progressing,” but stopped short of calling a recovery.

The doubt contrasts with upbeat trade statistics released last week that showed September’s exports jumped 9.9% from a year earlier, or nearly double expectations of analysts polled by the newswires.

Data released Friday showed foreign direct investment inflows dropped sharply in September, rounding out a down-trending pattern for the first nine months of the year.

China attracted $8.43 billion in foreign investment in September, down 6.8% from a year earlier, while January through September inflows totaled $83.4 billion, down 3.8% from the same period a year earlier, according to Ministry of Commerce.

The contraction in monthly FDI inflows ranks as longest seen since the financial crisis, according to Reuters.

China stocks opened slightly higher Friday, but gave up gains after the FDI release, with the Shanghai Composite recently trading little changed.