Trade surplus hits US$27 billion in October

The latest figures show China's trade surplus reached a record US$27 billion in October. This will give added fuel for US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, seen here, who is preparing for an economic summit in Beijing next month and will no doubt bang the drum about the under-valued yuan.

The trade surplus increased 13.5% from a year earlier.

The yuan's appreciation versus the dollar had its fastest acceleration last week since China ditched a fixed exchange rate in July 2005.

The 0.6% gain took the appreciation since then to 11.6%.

Imports jumped to US$80.7 billion, while exports rose 22.3% to US$107.7bilion.

Wang Qian, an economist at JPMorgan Chase & Co in Hong Kong said global oil and commodity prices contributed to the import surge.

Where will it all end? Previously reported estimates suggest a total surplus of US$257 billion in 2007, and US$308.4 billion in 2008.