June exports hit record high

    China's trade surplus(贸易顺差) grew for the third consecutive（连贯的） month in June, as exports saw stronger than expected expansion（膨胀） to reach a record high.
    Exports rose 43.9 percent from a year earlier to $137.4 billion in June, the General Administration of Customs (GAC) said over the weekend. The June reading exceeded the peak in July 2008, hitting a new high.
    Meanwhile, imports fell short of market expectations（期望,预期） to $117.37 billion in June, but still rose 34.1 percent year-on-year. The gap between imports and exports was more than $20 billion, the highest level this year.
    A stable global economic recovery shores up overseas demand, while exporters may rush to push products before tax rebates¹ on some exports are to be scrapped² Thursday, said Lu Ting, an economist³ with Bank of America-Merrill Lynch (BoAML) in Hong Kong.
    The currency reform that resumed in June is also likely to attract capital inflows by means of exports, Lu added.
    The expanding trade surplus will put pressure on yuan appreciation⁴ in the near term, he added.
    "The exchange rate policy should be forward-looking and stable. A sudden adjustment would affect the economy," Lu Zhengwei, a Shanghai-based senior economist with Indus-trial Bank said.
    The strong growth in exports would slow substantially in the coming two to three months, due to a release of demand in advance, Lu at BoAML told the Global Times.
    The yuan has appreciated a lot against the euro since April, which might have an impact on the country's exports to the European Union, Industrial Bank's Lu said.
    The trade surplus for the whole year is expected to shrink from last year, as imports continued high growth while exports grew at a slower pace, he said.
    The gap between exports and imports went down 42.5 percent over last year in the first half of this year, with imports growth higher than exports growth, according to the GAC.
    China's foreign exchange reserves also saw a decline in growth.
    The foreign exchange reserves rose 15.1 percent year-on-year to total $2.45 trillion as of the end of June, the People's Bank of China announced Sunday.
    The figure was $2.44 trillion in March, a 25 percent increase.
    But Lu at Industrial Bank warned if investment growth continues to slow and domestic demand further shrinks over the rest of the year, there is a possibility that the trade surplus would remain large.(本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑)

1 rebates   

n.退还款( rebate的名词复数 )；回扣；返还（退还的部份货价）；折扣

参考例句：

• The VAT system offers advantages, such as rebates on exports. 增值税有其优点，如对出口商品实行回扣。 来自辞典例句
• In more recent years rate rebates have been introduced for households. 近年地方税的减免已适用于家庭。 来自辞典例句

2 scrapped   

废弃(scrap的过去式与过去分词)； 打架

参考例句：

• This machine is so old that it will soon have to be scrapped. 这架机器太旧，快报废了。
• It had been thought that passport controls would be scrapped. 人们曾认为会放开护照管制。

3 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

4 appreciation   

n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨

参考例句：

• I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
• I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。