China’s Imports in May Grow at The Fastest Pace in a Decade as Raw Material Prices Soar

China’s imports grew in May at the fastest pace in a decade, driven by higher demand for raw materials, although export growth slowed more than expected amid delays caused by COVID-19 infections in the country’s ports.

While the rapid recovery in developed markets boosted demand for Chinese products, the outlook for the world’s largest exporter has been weakened by a global shortage of semiconductors, rising raw material and shipping costs, logistical bottlenecks and a recovering yuan.

China’s dollar exports in May grew 27.9% from a year earlier, slower than 32.3% in April and less than analysts’ expectations of 32.1%.

Imports in dollars rose 51.1% on an annual basis last month, the fastest growth since January 2011, but slower than the 51.5% increase predicted by a Reuters poll.

However, this figure, which is a measure of import values ​​and not its volume, was partially affected by the rise in raw material prices due to the demand for commodities such as coal, steel, iron ore and copper, after easing public isolation measures to confront the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic in many countries and the availability of liquidity globally.

China recorded a trade surplus of $45.53 billion for the month of May, higher than the $42.86 billion surplus achieved in April, but lower than the $50.5 billion expected.