China's trade surplus unexpected narrowed in July as exports barely grew from the year-earlier month and imports increased at a smaller rate, according to data released Friday. The trade surplus for the month dropped to $25.1 billion from $31.7 billion in June, falling way short of estimates for a surplus of $35.2 billion in a Dow Jones Newswires survey of economists. Exports rose just 1% from the year-ago period, while imports expanded 4.7%, compared to expectations for an 8% rise in exports and a 7% rise in imports. In June, China's exports rose 11.3%, while imports increased 6.3%. Shares in Hong Kong extended losses after the disappointing data, with the Hang Seng Index sliding 0.7% to 20,138.68.

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