SHANGHAI’S foreign trade growth accelerated in April amid economic indicators revealing a mixed picture in the economy.

Shanghai’s total imports and exports rose 17.8 percent in April from a year ago to 253.2 billion yuan (US$36.8 billion), faster than the 15.2 percent increase in March, the Shanghai Statistics Bureau said yesterday.

Imports growth accelerated to 25 percent but growth in exports slowed to 7.6 percent, the bureau’s data showed.