SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China's exports fell 3.3 percent in January from a year earlier, while imports fell 19.9 percent, disappointing analyst expectations.
That left the country with a trade surplus of $60 billion for the month, the Customs Administration said on Sunday.
Analysts polled by Reuters had expected to exports to rise by 6.3 percent, and predicted imports would fall by 3 percent, and foresaw a trade surplus of $48.9 billion.
However, analysts say strong seasonal distortions due to the Lunar New Year holiday mean investors should be cautious when interpreting the data. Last year the holiday fell in January, and this year it falls in February.
(Reporting by Pete Sweeney; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
