China’s current account surplus grew slightly last year

The goods trade surplus ballooned last year, driven in particular by lower world commodity prices that made imports cheaper. Even so, the soaring services trade deficit meant that the current account surplus only grew slightly. The explosion of Chinese tourism was the single largest factor driving the rising services trade deficit. Chinese tourists last year spent $165 billion abroad, or nearly 25 % more than in 2013. The size of current account surplus relative to GDP rose from 1.9 % in 2013 to 2.1 % last year.

There was a distinct shift in capital flows last year from 2013. Preliminary figures show that China experienced a net outflow of capital in 2014, and that the outflow accelerated in the fourth quarter.

The value of China’s gold and foreign currency reserves increased last year by $118 billion to around $4 trillion. 

Balance-of-payments highlights for China, USD billion

Sources: SAFE, Macrobond