According to today’s Bloomberg, “China's trade surplus jumped more than economists estimated in January, a sign that the world's fourth-biggest economy may keep powering global growth as a recession looms in the U.S.”  Data released by the Chinese authorities yesterday showed a trade surplus of $19.5 billion for January.  This is below December’s $22.7 billion (which tends to be swelled by Christmas shipments), but it is 23% higher than last January’s $15.9 billion.  More importantly it was also higher than the consensus estimates, of just under $17 billion.  Exports rose by a very high 26.7%, to $109.7 billion for January, while imports increased by 27.6%.