China reported that its trade surplus widened in December and beat analyst expectations. Exports remained strong despite a global financial slowdown and imports weakened. December trade surplus grew to $16.52 billion, coming in much higher than analyst expectations of trade surplus of $8.3 billion. Exports in December rose 13.4% on an annualized basis, similar to the 13.8% growth seen in November. Imports in December rose 11.8% on an annualized basis, much lower than the 22.1% growth seen in November. Read more
