8月进出口点评：债市后续会定价“抢出口”放缓吗？

Report Overview - Title: Will the bond market price in the slowdown of "front-loading exports" later? —— An analysis of August's imports and exports [1][4] - Date: September 10, 2025 [5] - Analysts: Zenghui Zhao, Weijian Ma [3] Key Points Overall Import and Export Situation - In August 2025, the year-on-year growth rate of imports and exports slowed down overall, lower than expected, while the trade surplus showed some resilience and remained at a relatively high level. In US dollar terms, the year-on-year growth rate of the total import and export value dropped by 2.8 percentage points to 3.1% compared with the previous month, reaching $541.3 billion in August. The trade surplus increased by $4.1 billion month-on-month to $102.3 billion. Among them, the year-on-year growth rates of export and import values both dropped by 2.8 percentage points to 4.4% and 1.3% respectively, which were 1.5 and 2.0 percentage points lower than the Wind consensus expectations [4]. - On a month-on-month basis, exports basically met seasonal expectations, while imports were significantly weaker than the seasonal level. In August, the month-on-month growth rate of exports rebounded by 1.1 percentage points to 0.1%, at the median level of the same period in previous years, while the month-on-month growth rate of imports dropped by 8 percentage points to -1.8% [4]. Export Analysis - In August, exports generally remained stable but slowed down significantly compared with June - July. This was partly due to the high base effect of the previous year, with a two-year compound year-on-year growth rate of 6.5%. On the other hand, "front-loading exports" to the US declined significantly, with the year-on-year growth rate of exports to the US continuing to fall, at -11.8% month-on-month and -33.1% year-on-year [6]. - Among key export products, mechanical and electrical products and high-tech products supported exports, while agricultural products declined. Products with high export growth rates were concentrated in high-end machinery and equipment such as ships, automobiles, liquid crystal panels, and medical devices, as well as some chemical materials such as fertilizers and rare earths. Products with low and falling export growth rates mainly included traditional export products to the US, such as labor-intensive products like toys, household appliances, and clothing and bags [6]. - In terms of export destinations, ASEAN, the EU, and Hong Kong, China had a strong driving effect on exports, while exports to the US and Latin America were significantly weaker than the seasonal average. In August, the driving rates of ASEAN, the EU, and Hong Kong, China on exports increased by 1.2, 0.2, and 0.6 percentage points respectively compared with the previous month to 4.0%, 1.7%, and 1.5%. On a month-on-month basis, the month-on-month growth rates of exports to the US, Latin America, and ASEAN were -11.8%, -0.03%, and 4.6% respectively, with changes of -5.7, -7.9, and +10.8 percentage points compared with the previous month [6]. Import Analysis - In August, imports weakened, with the growth rates of major imported products generally declining. The year-on-year growth rates of high-tech products, mechanical and electrical products, and agricultural products dropped by 4, 2, and 8 percentage points to 3%, 1%, and -3% respectively. The imports of bulk commodities were generally negative year-on-year, with significant declines in the imports of grain, crude oil and refined oil, and copper ore, and the decline rates of coal and iron ore narrowing. Among key mechanical and electrical products, the year-on-year growth rates of imports of automobiles, liquid crystal panels, and medical devices declined, while integrated circuits with a growth rate of 8.4% were the main support, with the quantity and price increasing by 2% and 6% year-on-year respectively [6]. Outlook and Bond Market Analysis - Overall, exports showed seasonal stability but still had signs of slowing down, while imports weakened significantly. Looking forward, the slowdown of "front-loading exports" at the expense of price may be due to the pre - emptive demand in the early stage, and exports to Latin America also weakened. The sustainability of "re - export trade" remains to be observed. At the end of August, the US cancelled the tariff exemption policy for small - value goods, expanded the scope of steel and aluminum tariff lists, and considering the possible implementation of chip and semiconductor tariffs in the future and its continuous promotion of the rare earth supply chain reconstruction plan, there is great uncertainty in future exports to the US [6]. - In the bond market, the current import and export data have limited impact, and the market is more pricing in the "see - saw" relationship between stocks and bonds and the expectations of the policy "combination punch". However, if the resilience of exports weakens further, it may have a new actual drag on the economic fundamentals in the fourth quarter, increasing the probability of non - linear changes in economic data. The bond market is likely to gradually return to pricing the expectations of economic fundamentals [6].