China’s trade surplus narrowed more than expected in February as imports grew at the fastest pace since November 2004.
The surplus fell to $2.45 billion from $9.49 billion in January, the customs bureau said today on its Web site. That was the smallest gap since July 2004 and below the median $7.5 billion forecast in a Bloomberg News survey of economists. Imports jumped 30 percent while exports gained 22 percent.
China is seeking to reduce last year’s record $102 billion trade surplus to avoid possible punitive tariffs on shipments to the U.S., where politicians and manufacturers blame an artificially weak Chinese currency for giving the nation’s exports an unfair advantage. A wider reduction of the deficit would be needed to placate lawmakers, said economist Tim Condon.
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