China’s trade surplus narrows to $32 billion in June 2014

China’s trade surplus narrowed to $32 billion in June 2014 after export growth slowed and imports increased, showing the economy is still stabilizing after a weak start to the year.

Exports rose by 7.2% from a year earlier, which was below market expectations for a 10.6% increase.

Imports also missed forecasts, rising by 5.5% due to sluggish demand.

Asian stocks fell in reaction to the data, while the Australian dollar lost some of its gains before recovering.

Economists say unless more stimulus measures are taken, they doubt China will be able to achieve its annual growth target of 7.5% this year.

China released its latest inflation figures on Wednesday, showing that price pressures have diminished amid lower food prices.

Low inflation is good news because the value of consumers’ incomes is preserved, allowing their money to go further. It also gives the authorities more room to maneuver when setting policy.

Consumer prices rose by 2.3% in June from a year ago, which was an improvement from May’s increase of 2.5%.

Producer prices fell by 1.1% from a year earlier in June after energy prices fell.