According to data released by the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China, Chinese imports and exports rose unexpectedly in June.
June's exports increased by 0.5 percent (year-to-year) after dropping 3.3 percent in May, and over the analysts' expectations who foresaw a 1.5 percent drop. Conversely, import levels gained 2.7 percent in June, after falling 16.7 percent on the previous month and over the analysts' expectations, who foresaw a 10 percent drop.
Some analysts attribute those figures to the fact that the major Western countries are now reopening their economies and are demanding more Chinese products.
“The reopening of major Western economies and elevated overseas demand for PPEs (personal protective equipment) and masks supported Chinese exports in June,” explained an analyst at Ducker Frontier, “In addition, production disruptions in China’s trade competitors also helped to shift some orders to Chinese exporters,” he added.
The trade balance for June stood at 328.94 billion yuan, after being at 442.75 billion yuan on the previous month.
The US stock markets lost territory on Monday after the state of California decided not to continue with its reopening plans, which spread the fears for another coronavirus lockdown. The S&P 500 dropped by 0.94 percent, closing at the 3,155.22 level, followed by the Nasdaq 100 which dropped 2.16 percent, closing on the 10,602.21 level. On the other hand, the Dow Jones Industrial Average remained almost steady, advancing 0.04 percent during the session, and closing at the 26,085.80 level.
Fears also took over the oil markets, as the West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures went down by 0.07 percent, closing at the 40.10 level, conversely, the Brent oil futures dropped 0.28 percent, closing at the 42.72 level.
At the moment there are around 13,242,693 confirmed coronavirus cases in the world as well as a death toll of 575,663. The United States still leads in the number of infections, with 3,479,483 confirmed infections and a death toll of 138,247, followed by Brazil and India.
In Europe, there are signs of economic recovery coming out of the UK. The Office for National Statistics reported that the United Kingdom's Gross domestic product increased by 1.8 percent in May, after falling 20.3 percent on the previous month. On the first quarter, the Gross domestic product went down by 19.1 percent.
“Today’s figures underline the scale of the challenge we face. I know people are worried about the security of their jobs and incomes,” commented the Finance Minister, Rishi Sunak after the data was released.