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BEIJING: China said Monday its trade surplus hit a monthly all-time high of 29.3 billion dollars in September, although it was down slightly for the first three quarters of the year.
Exports in September reached 136.4 billion dollars, up 21.5 per cent over the same month in 2007, while imports during the period were 107.1 billion dollars, up by 21.3 per cent, the General Administration of Customs said.
The previous monthly surplus record was 28.7 billion dollars in August.
The new record monthly trade surplus came as a surprise as many economists had predicted exports would slow on falling global demand brought on by the global financial crisis.
China's trade surplus for the first nine months of the year reached 180.9 billion dollars, down 2.6 per cent year-on-year, the administration said on its website.
Exports for the first three quarters of the year hit 1.074 trillion dollars up 22.3 per cent over the same period in 2007, while imports during the period increased by 29 per cent to 893.1 billion dollars, it said.
China's crude oil imports in the first nine months of the year rose 8.8 per cent year-on-year to 140 million metric tonnes, or an average of about 3.75 million barrels a day, the administration said.
The data indicated China's crude oil imports for September set a monthly record, according to Dow Jones Newswires.
Previous figures from the customs bureau showed China imported 119.98 million tons of crude in the first eight months of this year.
This means China's crude oil imports in September totalled around 20 million tons, equivalent to 4.89 million barrels per day, Dow Jones said.
In the first nine months of the year, automobile imports rose 40.3 per cent year-on-year to 310,000 units, the customs bureau said.
- AFP/yt
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