BEIJING, March 11 (Reuters) - China's exports fell 25.7 percent in February from a year earlier, while imports fell 24.1 percent, the General Administration of Customs said on Wednesday.
The resulting trade surplus was $4.84 billion, compared with $39.1 billion in January and a record $40.1 billion in November, the customs administration said on its website (www.customs.gov.cn).
Economists had expected a $27.3 billion surplus based on a 5.0 percent fall in exports and a 25.0 percent drop in imports from year-earlier levels. [ID:nPEK240726]
The trade surplus in February 2008 was $8.6 billion.
It was the fourth consecutive monthly decline in both exports and imports.
Trade, in billions of dollars:
Feb Jan Dec Nov Oct Sep Aug Jul Exp 64.9 90.5 111.2 115.0 128.3 136.4 134.9 136.7 Imp 60.1 51.3 72.2 74.9 93.1 107.1 106.2 111.4 Bal 4.8 39.1 39.0 40.1 35.2 29.3 28.7 25.3
Export and import growth (yr/yr % change):
Feb Jan Dec Nov Oct Sep Aug Jul Exp -25.7 -17.5 -2.8 -2.2 19.2 21.5 21.1 26.9 Imp -24.1 -43.1 -21.3 -17.9 15.6 21.3 23.1 33.7
Rolling 12-month surplus, in billions of dollars:
Feb Jan Dec Nov Oct Sep Aug Jul Bal 311.3 315.1 295.5 278.7 265.0 257.3 251.9 248.7 (Reporting by Jason Subler and Zhou Xin; Editing by Alan Wheatley and Ken Wills)