China’s Nov exports up 0.5%, imports shrink 0.6%

BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s exports rose 0.5% in November from a year earlier, while imports decreased 0.6%, customs data showed on Thursday.

A Reuters poll of economists had forecast a 1.1% decline in exports and a 3.0% increase in imports.

Contrasting manufacturing activity data for November kept alive calls for further policy support measures to shore up growth, but prompted analysts to question whether predominantly negative sentiment-based surveys were keeping up with recent hard data and early signs of improvement in global trade flows.

(Reporting by Joe Cash; Editing by Kim Coghill)