China's trade slump extended into September, with imports collapsing and exports remaining feeble, underscoring the fragile state of the world's number two economy. Dollar-denominated imports plunged by a worse-than-expected 20.4% in September from a year earlier, while exports slipped 3.7% producing a trade surplus of $60.34 billion, official data showed on Tuesday. Surplus of $46 billion was predicted.
Economists had forecast imports to fall 15% following a 13.8% slide in the previous month, and exports to decline 6.3%, after a 5.5% decline in August. Alongside the release of the data, a spokesman for the country's customs department warned that the mainland economy faced relatively large downward pressure, Reuters reported. However, he noted that China's trade picture should improve in the fourth quarter as a weaker yuan helps export competitiveness.
Despite the figures, Aussie fell over the night and is currently being traded around 0.7310 level. Pair is likely to find support at 0.7270 area and resistance above 0.7380 level. There will be no major data releases in the rest of the session.