BEIJING, April 10 (Reuters) - China's exports fell 17.1 percent in March from a year earlier, while imports fell 25.1 percent, the official Xinhua news agency said on Friday.
The resulting trade surplus was $18.56 billion, compared with $4.84 billion in February and $39.1 billion in January, Xinhua said, citing the customs administration.
Economists had expected a $10.4 billion surplus based on a 21.5 percent fall in exports and a 22.0 percent drop in imports from year-earlier levels. [ID:nPEK179458].
The trade surplus in March 2008 was $13.4 billion, and it hit a record monthly high of $40.1 billion in November 2008.
It was the fifth consecutive monthly decline in both exports and imports. (Reporting by Jason Subler; Editing by Alan Wheatley and Ken Wills)