China's Fake Trade Distortion Is Behind Its Ugly Export Data (FXI, EWH)

Chinese exports plunged 18.1% year-over-year in February, missing expectations for a 7.5% rise.  This was down from a 10.6% rise in January. But what was behind the fall? "We believe the real situation is not that bad, and could be quite normal, by analyzing two distortions, namely the Lunar New Year (LNY) and fabricated trades last year," Bank of America's Ting Lu wrote in a note to clients. The impact of the Lunar New Year holiday was expected and Ting thinks frontloading exports, gave the Ja...