China February exports post record surge from COVID-19-depressed 2020 levels

BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s February exports grew at a record pace from a year earlier when COVID-19 battered the world’s second-biggest economy, customs data showed on Sunday, while imports rose less sharply. Exports in dollar terms skyrocketed 154.9% in February compared with a year earlier, while imports gained 17.3%, the most since October 2018. The data did not include figures for January alone. In the January-February period, exports jumped 60.6% from a year earlier, when lockdowns to contain the pandemic paralysed the country’s economic activity. That exceeded the forecast of analysts in a Reuters poll for a 38.9% surge. Strong…