China exports stabilise in June as imports post slight drop

China's exports stabilised in June - the latest indicator to show the world's second - biggest economy is steadying. Overseas shipments rose 1.3 per cent in yuan terms from a year earlier, the customs administration saidon Wednesday. Imports fell 2.3 per cent to leave a trade surplus of 311.2 billion yuan ($46.5 billion). Trade in dollar terms typically is posted shortly after yuan data.

The yuan posted a fifth straight drop last week, the longest losing streak this year, signalling policy makers are more tolerant of further weakening. A weaker yuan may give a boost to export competitiveness if sustained, especially if global demand can weather recent upheavals including Britain's decision to exit the European Union.

"Wednesday's trade data clearly illustrate the impact of a fast RMB depreciation, as exports improved somewhat while imports fell further," Zhou Hao, an economist at Commerzbank AG in Singapore, wrote in a note, using the abbreviation for renminbi, an alternative name for the nation's currency. China sees "obvious" obstacles in foreign trade amid a severe and complex environment, the customs administration said in a statement accompanying the data.

Factory-gate deflation eased for a sixth straight month in June, an official factory gauge was largely stable, while a services measure perked up. Data Friday is forecast to show the economy expanded 6.6 per cent from a year earlier in the three months through June, according to a Bloomberg survey of economists.