China April exports rebound strongly after sluggish March, trade surplus widens

By Joe Cash and Lewis Jackson

LONDON/BEIJING, May 9 (Reuters) - China's export growth gathered pace in April as factories raced to meet a wave of overseas orders from buyers seeking to stockpile components amid fears the Iran war could push global input costs even higher.

Exports expanded 14.1% from a year earlier in U.S. dollar value terms, customs data showed on Saturday, outpacing the 2.5% gain in March and a 7.9% rise tipped by economists.

Chinese exporters have so far weathered the fallout from the Middle East conflict, buoyed by overseas buyers scrambling to secure supplies, but economists warn that the longer the war drags on and energy prices rise, the greater the risk that external demand fades away -- leaving sluggish domestic consumption unable to plug the gap.

New export orders rose to their highest level in two years, separate factory activity data for April showed last month.

Imports notched another strong month in April, climbing 25.3% versus 27.8% in March. Economists had forecasted growth of 15.2%.

That boosted China's trade surplus last month to $84.8 billion, from $51.13 billion in March.

Momentum was solid in the first quarter, with China's GDP growth hitting 5% year-on-year, the top of the government's full-year target range, and lessening the need for immediate stimulus.

But even China, long criticised by trading partners for subsidy-backed, cut-price manufacturing, is not insulated from the hit to buyers' purchasing power as fuel and transport costs rise.

The factory data published last month showed input prices remained elevated, particularly for refined goods and petroleum, coal and chemicals.

Unemployment rates also edged higher and retail sales - a gauge of consumption - continued to underperform industrial output.

U.S. President Donald Trump is ?expected to visit China next week for a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, a trip that could yield gains on farm trade and ?airplane parts but is unlikely to soften deep strategic rifts, especially over Taiwan. (Reporting by Joe Cash in London and Lewis Jackson and Tina Qiao in Beijing; Editing by Kim Coghill)