China's December exports surge 14.1%

A surprisingly positive news.

According to BBVA Research, December exports surprised to the upside, jumping by 14.1% y/y in December (consensus: 5.0%) from a sluggish 2.9% y/y in November, adding to evidence of an economic rebound in Q4.

Exports to ASEAN remained robust (30.0% y/y), and exports to the US also picked up, while demand from both Europe and Japan remained weak. Meanwhile, imports accelerated to 6.0% y/y (consensus: 3.5%) from 0.0% in November.

"As a result, the trade surplus widened to USD 31.6bn for the month. Separately, new RMB bank loans slowed to a disappointing RMB 454bn in December (consensus: RMB 550 bn) from 523bn in November; however, a broader measure of credit, “total social financing” surged to 1.63trn RMB from 1.14trn, as China's corporate sector and local governments turn to nonbank sources of funding," BBVA reported.