China trade surplus shrinks in first half

BEIJING, July 10 (UPI) -- China, feeling the effect of a rising yuan, saw its trade surplus fall to $99.03 billion in the first half of this year, down 11.8 percent from last year.

The government's customs administration said Thursday imports outpaced exports during the January-June period, resulting in the surplus shrinkage.

Half-yearly exports totaled $666.6 billion, up 21.9 percent from the same period of last year, while imports shot up 30.6 percent to $567.57 billion during the same period, Xinhua reported.

For the month of June, exports totaled $121.53 billion, up 17.6 percent from June of last year, while June imports totaled $100.18 billion, up 31 percent from June of last year.

The government said June export growth slowed 10.5 percent from May, while June imports were 9 percent lower than the previous month.

While China's currency appreciation has made its exports dearer, it is also seen as helping to stop Chinese economy from overheating and curbing inflation. A higher yuan also helps reduce China's costs of imports such as oil and grain.