The impact of China’s slowing economy is depressing export earnings across the developing world, not only from countries that rely on commodity production but increasingly also from manufacturing exporters that have hitherto enjoyed buoyant demand.
Data from Capital Economics, which compiles three-month rolling averages for emerging markets (EM) in order to smooth out monthly volatility, found that exports from EMs fell 8 per cent year on year in March, after a 4.4 per cent decline in February (see chart). Partial data available for April suggest EM exports continued to weaken in the month, the research company said.
Several effects are conspiring to damp EM exports, including lower commodity prices, the strength of the US dollar and China’s slowdown, analysts said.