Chinese Exports Rise 10% Missing Expectations

Chinese exports climbed 10 percent year-over-year in March.

This was lower that expectations for an 11.7 percent rise, and compares with a 21.8 percent rise in February.

Societe Generale's Wei Yao had previously said that last month's rise in export data was "the result of disguised capital inflows, as exporters could overstate export amount in order to move yuan into the mainland," according to some rumors.

Economists don't think the Jan-Feb exports reflects strong external demand. In fact, Yao said the rise in exports could be "more of a curse than a blessing for China."

Meanwhile, imports rebounded in March, climbing 14.1 percent on the year.

This beat expectations for a six percent rise. Imports were down 15.2 percent the previous month.

China reported a trade deficit of $0.88 billion, this missed expectations for a surplus of $15.15 billion.

These charts from Bank of America's Ting Lu show Chinese trade growth and the trajectory of exports by destination from 2007: