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Pastimes : Clown-Free Zone... sorry, no clowns allowed -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: ild who wrote (221089)	2/13/2003 11:33:08 PM
From: ild	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 436258

China Posted 1st Trade Deficit in More Than 6 Years (Update2) By Chi-Chu Tschang Beijing, Feb. 14 (Bloomberg) -- China posted a trade deficit for the first time in more than six years as refiners stockpiled crude oil ahead of a possible U.S.-led war on Iraq and consumers took advantage of tariff cuts to buy more imported cars. The deficit in January was $1.25 billion, the first time the nation has posted a shortfall since December 1996, Xinhua news agency said, citing customs statistics. Imports rose 63 percent to $31 billion, while exports rose 37 percent to $29.8 billion. ``It is surprising,'' said Robert Subbaraman, an economist at Lehman Brothers in Tokyo. ``My suspicion is there were temporary factors involved. Oil prices have been going up so China might be trying to front load their imports.'' China's crude oil imports last month rose almost four-fifths from a year earlier in volume terms and prices were up by about three-quarters. Also, the nation's entry into the World Trade Organization a year ago led to reduced tariffs and higher import quotas for goods ranging from luxury sedans to table wine. Crude oil futures in New York rose 72 percent from a year earlier in January and China imported 8.4 million tons, 78 percent more than a year earlier, Xinhua said. China, the world's third-largest oil user, will build a strategic oil reserve of 20 million tons to protect itself from the war in Iraq, Song Chaoyi, a deputy director at the State Development Planning Commission said last month. Car imports rose more than three-quarters to 127,394 units last year after the country increased its vehicle quotas as part of its WTO commitments. Car and auto part imports totaled $860 million last month, according to Xinhua. China will increase its vehicle import quota 15 percent this year to $9.12 billion. Another temporary factor in the surge in import and export trade figures was the Chinese New Year's holiday, which began earlier this year compared with 2002, said Subbaraman. Companies doing business in China tend to do an unusually large amount of trade before the country goes on a one-week holiday, he said. Last year, China had a trade surplus of $30.4 billion, up 35 percent from 2001. quote.bloomberg.com