China’s foreign trade grows 3.6 per cent in first 10 months

China’s total goods imports and exports in yuan-denominated terms rose to 37.31 trillion yuan (about $5.27 trillion) in the first 10 months of 2025, marking a year-on-year increase of 3.6 per cent, according to official data released on Friday.

The General Administration of Customs reported that the growth rate slowed from an increase of 4 per cent registered in the first nine months of the year.

In October alone, China’s goods imports and exports edged up 0.1 per cent year on year to 3.7 trillion yuan.

Meanwhile China’s central bank added gold to its reserves in October for the twelfth straight month, data from the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) showed on Friday.

China’s gold holdings increased to 74.09 million fine troy ounces at the end of October from 74.06 million in the previous month. That compares with 72.8 million ounces in the same period a year earlier, an 1.8% increase.

The value of its gold holdings was $297.21 billion at the end of last month versus $283.29 billion in September, according to the PBOC.

Spot gold was trading just above $4,000 per ounce on Friday as the safe-haven regained traction amid a weaker dollar, as bets on a December rate cut by the United States Federal Reserve grew. Concerns over a prolonged US government shutdown and uncertainty over the legality of US tariffs also helped to support gold.

Gold set a record at $4,381 per ounce in October.

Last week, Beijing cut a value added tax exemption for certain gold purchased through the Shanghai Gold Exchange and the Shanghai Futures Exchange.

Meanwhile, China has yet to release gold output data for the latest quarter, leaving analysts without an updated official production marker.

In May 2024, the PBOC halted its 18-month-long gold purchasing spree. However, the central bank resumed its gold buying in November that year.

China and Hong Kong stocks closed down on Friday, but ended the week with modest gains, as investors largely brushed off concerns over a global technology selloff potentially impacting Chinese markets.

China’s blue-chip CSI300 Index and the Shanghai Composite Index both finished 0.3 per cent lower, while the Hong Kong benchmark Hang Seng was down 0.9 per cent. The CSI300 Index and the Hang Seng rose around 1% each this week.

In contrast, tech-heavy stock markets in the US and other parts of Asia were bracing for their heaviest weekly falls in seven months, as investors have turned uneasy about how far the rally in artificial intelligence stocks has run.

Foreign institutional investors added further positions in Chinese equities in the third quarter with their underweight reduced from -1.6 per cent to -1.3 per cent, UBS analysts said in a note.

The top 40 global investors’ Chinese equity holdings rose to the highest level since the first quarter of 2023, they said. China’s tech-focused STAR50 Index was roughly flat this week.

The Trump administration said on Thursday it would pursue negotiations with China over its dominance of ship building and ocean logistics as it formalized plans for a one-year pause on US port fees on China-linked vessels as part of a broader deal to reduce trade tensions.

Onshore semiconductor shares were down 1.3 per cent after media reported the White House has told others in the federal government it won’t allow Nvidia to sell its latest scaled-down AI chips to China.

Tech majors traded in Hong Kong fell 1.8 per cent, after a near 3 per cent rally the previous day.  Meanwhile, China’s exports unexpectedly slumped in October. China has approved registration of platinum and palladium futures and options, moving a step closer to the launch of the derivatives trading of the metals used by automakers and other industrial sectors.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission said on Friday that it would supervise the Guangzhou Futures Exchange to ensure a smooth launch of platinum and palladium futures and options.

The regulator did not disclose a date for the launch. The Guangzhou bourse, which was established in 2021 and mainly focuses on products related to green energy, announced the plans in July last year, seeking to provide a domestic price-hedging mechanism for the metals.

The exchange had been communicating with futures companies, producers and traders on the design of the proposed contracts, industry insiders said.

Prices of platinum and palladium have spiked this year, driven by tight supply. Analysts have raised price forecasts for platinum and palladium in 2026, citing tight mine supply, tariff uncertainty and rotation from investment demand for gold.

Agencies