China’s Trade Deficit

As a result of burgeoning domestic consumer demand, China posted a rare trade deficit in March but any significant effects are likely to be temporary. “China posted its first trade deficit in six years in March even as the yuan stayed pegged to the dollar, aiding government efforts to play down the currency’s role in global economic imbalances. The $7.24 billion shortfall, reported by the customs bureau on its Web site yesterday, compared with a median forecast for a $390 million deficit in a Bloomberg News survey of 26 economists. Imports surged 66 percent from a year earlier as exports gained 24 percent. A trade deficit for a single month may not persuade the U.S. to ease pressure on China to scrap the 21-month-old peg amid calls in Congress for the nation to be branded a currency manipulator.”