(Yicai) Sept. 7 -- China’s foreign trade remains under pressure amid a sluggish pickup in the global economy, but there were indications of a recovery last month. 

China exported USD284.9 billion (USD38.9 billion) of goods in August, down 8.8 percent from a year earlier, but up 1.2 percent on July, according to data released by the General Administration of Customs today. The decline in overall trade also slowed.

China’s international trade totaled USD501.4 billion (USD68.5 billion) last month, up 3.9 percent from the month before. It was down 8.2 percent from the same period of last year, compared with a 13.6 percent annual slump in July.

Imports totaled USD216.5 billion, down 7.3 percent year on year, versus July’s 12.4 percent drop, and up 7.6 percent on a monthly basis.

The better trade data was partly down to the low base last year, but the external market is also changing, Bai Ming, a member of the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, told Yicai Global. The trade slump with Vietnam has also narrowed, Bai noted.

Three factors mainly underpinned China’s exports in August, said Zheng Houcheng, chief macroeconomist at Yingda Securities. The first was the base effect. The second was the exchange rate, with the Chinese yuan depreciating 1.62 percent against the US dollar to the benefit of exports. Third, the producer price index for August, which has yet been published, is expected to have risen from July, also helping exports.

Last month’s exports also came up against negative factors. The J.P. Morgan global manufacturing purchasing managers’ index inched up to 49, from 48.6, but remained in contraction territory for the 12th straight month.

In the first eight months of the year, China’s trade totaled USD3.9 trillion (USD532.6 billion), down 6.5 percent from a year ago, the GAC data showed. Exports stood at USD2.2 trillion, down 5.6 percent, while imports were USD1.7 trillion, down 7.6 percent, with the trade surplus expanding 0.8 percent to USD553.4 billion.

The value of China’s trade with the United States, its third-largest trading partner, fell 8.7 percent in the January to August period. Exports sank 11.7 percent, imports grew 1.6 percent, and the trade surplus shrank by 17.4 percent.

Editor: Tom Litting