Beijing: China's export growth slowed sharply in July to a six-month low following dwindling demand from Europe and Japan, official data showed Friday.
Exports rose 1 percent year on year to USD 176.9 billion in July, plummeting from the 11.3-percent growth seen in June and well below market expectations, the General Administration of Customs (GAC) said Friday.
Imports increased 4.7 percent year on year to USD 151.8 billion, compared with a growth of 6.3 percent in June, reported Xinhua.
The trade surplus narrowed 16.8 percent year on year to USD 25.2 billion in July, taking the combined trade surplus to USD 94.1 billion for the first seven months of the year.
Foreign trade expanded 2.7 percent year on year to USD 328.7 billion in July, according to the GAC data.
In the January-July period, total foreign trade reached USD 2.17 trillion, an increase of 7.1 percent year on year, lower than the 10-percent growth targeted by the government for the whole of 2012.
IANS
First Published: Friday, August 10, 2012, 12:38