CHINA recorded a trade surplus in April of US$16.68 billion, compared with US$13.4 billion in March and US$16.9 billion a year earlier, the customs administration said yesterday.

Exports in April rose 21.8 percent from a year earlier to US$118.7 billion, while imports rose 26.3 percent to US$102 billion, the agency said.

The figures were broadly in line with calculations based on trade figures for machinery and electrical products released Friday. These pointed to an overall surplus in April of about US$16.65 billion.

Economists polled by Reuters had expected a surplus of US$14.8 billion based on export growth of 20 percent and import growth of 27 percent.

Imports have grown faster than exports for every month since October, apart from March.

April’s reading lowered China’s rolling 12-month trade surplus slightly to US$256.9 billion from US$257.1 billion in March, providing further evidence that the surplus is cresting. It was US$262.2 billion in 2007.

(SD-Agencies)