China registered its largest trade surplus on record last month as imports plunged on falling commodity prices and weak domestic demand.
Imports fell 19.9 percent from a year earlier, the largest drop in more than five years. The figure compared with projections for a 3.2 percent decline. Exports dropped 3.3 percent, leaving a trade surplus of $60 billion, the customs administration in Beijing said.
Analysts anticipated that easing measures in Europe would boost demand for Chinese goods and would increase exports by 6.3 percent and imports to fall by only 3 percent, to give a trade deficit of $48.9 billion.
Instead, exports slid 12 percent on a monthly basis, while imports dove 21.1 percent, according to the data released by the Customs Administration said on Sunday.
The decline was led by a sharp slide in commodities imports, in particular imports of coal which dropped nearly 40 percent to 16.78 million tons, down from December's 27.22 million tons, as well as a scale back in crude oil imports, which slid 7.9 percent.
Falling oil and metals prices have cut the dollar value of imports and contributed to a prolonged decline in factory gate prices, coinciding with restrained domestic demand amid a property slump and overcapacity.
China’s central bank announced a cut to banks’ reserve ratio requirements on Feb. 4 to offset liquidity outflows. The government is expected to lower its GDP target to around 7 percent this year, after posting 7.4 percent in 2014.