China's international trade performance suffered a larger dip than expected during October 2016, according to the latest official data.

Weak domestic and global demand meant that October exports fell 7.3 per cent from a year earlier, while imports declined by 1.4 per cent. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected falls of six per cent and one per cent, respectively.

Imports of iron ore, crude oil, coal and copper all fell in October following recent price increases, while a recent property boom that has helped to drive growth may be peaking, reducing demand for building materials such as cement and steel.

Despite the bigger-than-expected downturn seen in October, experts nevertheless observed that China's economy is showing signs of recovery, with last month's data marking an improvement on the ten per cent drop in exports and 1.9 per cent fall in imports from September.

Economists at ANZ said imports and exports have "improved on a year-on-year basis", while Ayaz Ebrahim of JP Morgan Asset Management said the overall trend "is getting better" when taken over the last five to six months.