China's General Administration of Customs has just released its latest trade figures for the month of January, revealing a huge jump in the nation's trade surplus. Here are the headline figures:

— Exports of goods increased 9.1% year-on-year to $217.6 billion for the month.

— Imports slipped to $178.4 billion, down 1.5% year-on-year.

— The overall trade surplus reached $39.2 billion, more than double the $18.4 billion figure from a year earlier.

“Chinese New Year fell earlier in February this year, which means that more of the pre-holiday rush to fulfill orders will have fallen into January, boosting year-on-year export growth,” said Julian Evans-Pritchard, an analyst with research firm Capital Economics.

Related: China’s Trade Surplus Falls to Five-Year Low in 2018