Chinese Trade Data Disappoints
China revealed on Tuesday that its exports took a noticeable hit in July, dropping by 14.5% compared to last year. Imports also faced a significant decline of 12.4%, measured in U.S. dollars.
This performance was worse than what analysts had predicted.
This drop in trade can be linked to the slower growth of big economies, like the United States, which has affected China's exports throughout the year. At the same time, China's own demand for goods has remained weak, making trade challenging.
The numbers also showed a big drop of 20.8% in China's imports of crude oil in July compared to last year.
The trade decline seen in July adds to the existing struggles in China's exports and imports. When looking at the bigger picture, China's exports for the first seven months of this year went down by 5% compared to the previous year. Imports saw an even larger decline of 7.6% during this period.
Despite these difficulties, a few categories managed to show export growth in the first seven months of the year. Items like cars, refined oil, and bags saw significant increases in their export quantities. On the import side, some categories saw notable growth from January to July compared to the previous year, including paper pulp, coal products, and edible vegetable oil.
Russell Shor
Senior Market Strategist
Russell Shor is a Senior Market Strategist at FXCM, having been promoted to the role in 2025 in recognition of his depth of insight and consistent delivery of high-impact market analysis. He originally joined FXCM in October 2017 as a Senior Market Specialist.
Russell holds an Honours Degree in Economics from the University of South Africa, is a certified FMVA®, and a full member of the Society of Technical Analysts (UK). With over 20 years of experience in financial markets, his work is renowned for its clarity, precision, and strategic value across asset classes.
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