| Whenever economies are at turning points the data tend to be inconsistent, and this can be seen in China's trade figures for July. The headline-grabbing slump in exports to growth of just 1% from the year-earlier month, when 8.6% was forecast, is a sure sign that the global economy is doing it tough because the world's main factory is finding it hard to sell its wares.
But, while import growth was also below expectations at 4.7%, the actual volumes of commodities bought by China were not too bad, with modest gains for crude oil and copper, and only a small decline for iron ore. If you were trying to out a positive spin on the trade numbers, it would be something like this...............................................Full Article: Source
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