BEIJING (Nov 8): China’s exports rose an above-forecast 11.6 percent in October from a year earlier, while imports rose 4.6 percent, leaving the country with a trade surplus of $45.4 billion for the month, the General Administration of Customs said on Saturday.

The figures compared with market expectations in a Reuters poll of a 10.6 percent rise in exports, a 5.5 percent increase in imports and a trade surplus of $42 billion.

September's surprisingly strong export growth of 15.3 percent led some analysts to question the accuracy of the official numbers amid signs a resurgence of speculative currency flows through inflated trade receipts.

Annual growth in the world's second-largest economy slowed to 7.3 percent in the third quarter - the weakest since the height of the global financial crisis - as a cooling property sector weighs on domestic demand.