Official statistics issued by China’s government over the weekend show that the economy is still growing, although more slowly than expected in some areas.
Exports, however, rose 15.3pc in May, according to customs figures released on Sunday. This is more than twice as much as the market expected (6.8pc).Europe is China’s largest export market, but there was increased demand for Chinese goods from the United States.
Meanwhile, crude oil imports hit an all-time high of 6 billion barrels a day in May.