China Trade Surplus sharnk after export plunge by record

China’s trade surplus plunged in February as exports fell by a record, adding pressure on the government to spur domestic consumption to prop up the world’s third-biggest economy.
The trade gap narrowed to $4.8 billion, about an eighth of the amount in the previous month, the customs bureau said in a statement. Exports tumbled 25.7 percent from a year earlier. Imports fell 24.1 percent.
Exports fell 17.5 percent in January and imports declined a record 43.1 percent. Bloomberg’s data goes back to 1995.
After hitting a record $40 billion in November, China’s trade surpluses may stay below $20 billion for the next six months because of weaker demand, said Xing Ziqiang, an economist at China International Capital Corp. in Beijing.