BEIJING (AP) — China’s exports fell 7.5% from a year earlier in May and imports were down 4.5%, adding to signs an economic rebound following the end of anti-virus controls is slowing as global demand weakens under pressure from higher interest rates.
Exports slid to $283.5 billion, reversing from April’s unexpectedly strong 8.5% growth, customs data showed Wednesday. Imports fell to $217.7 billion, moderating from the previous month’s 7.9% contraction.
Trade weakness adds to downward pressure on the world’s second-largest economy following lackluster factory and consumer activity and a surge in unemployment among young people.
Factory output and consumer spending revived after controls that cut off access to major cities for weeks at a time and blocked most international travel were lifted in December. But forecasters say the peak of that rebound probably has passed.
Retail spending is recovering more slowly than expected because jittery consumers worry about the economic outlook and possible job losses.
A record 1 in 5 young workers in cities were unemployed.
Exports to the United States tumbled 18.2% from a year earlier to $42.5 billion after the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark lending rate to a 16-year high to curb surging inflation by slowing business and consumer activity.
Imports of American goods sank 9.9% to $14.3 billion. China’s politically volatile trade surplus with the United States narrowed by 21.9% to $28.1 billion.
Also in May, China’s imports from the 27-nation European Union fell 38.6% to $24.5 billion.
