China trade: Horrible details in Jan, exports/imports collapse

Following a strong trade surplus in December, boosted by strong exports, China's trade balance for January 2016 came in at CNY 406.2bn vs +389.01bn expected, with exports falling by 6.6% vs +3.6% expected and +2.3% last, while imports were -14.4% vs +1.8% expected and -4.0% last.

The major miss in China trade balance should keep risk assets under pressure, especially the Australian Dollar, given the close links with the Chinese economy, Australia's main trading partner. At present, the AUD/USD exchanges hands at 0.7120 after a 30 pips drop off highs, while USD/JPY trades at highs near 113.70.