China39;s April exports meet forecasts, imports handily top expectations
Trade upturn suggests welcome demand recovery at home and abroad
But analysts sceptical about strength of both exports, import growth
China39;s industrial overcapacity problematic for factories, they say

BEIJING, May 9 Reuters China39;s exports and imports returned to growth in April after contracting in the previous month, signalling an encouraging improvement in demand at home and overseas as Beijing navigates numerous challenges in an effort to shore up a shaky economy.

The data suggests a flurry of policy support measures over the past several months may be helping to stabilise fragile investor and consumer confidence, though analysts say the jury is still out on whether the trade bounce is sustainable.

Shipments from China grew 1.5 yearonyear last month by value, customs data showed on Thursday, in line with the increase forecast in a Reuters poll of economists. They fell 7.5 in March, which marked the first contraction since November.

Imports for April increased 8.4, beating an expected 4.8 rise and reversing a 1.9 fall in March.

Export values returned to growth from contraction last month, but this was mainly due to a lower base for comparison, said Huang Zichun, China economist at Capital Economics.

After accounting for changes in export prices and for seasonality, we estimate that export volumes remained broadly unchanged from March, she added.

In the first quarter, both imports…