World Trade growth at its lowest since 2003
Is the World Economy at risk of contracting? Maybe:
An indicator produced by the Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis, a Dutch research institute, showed that in the three months to January world trade in goods rose at annualised rate of 0.2 per cent over the previous three months.
The equivalent growth rate in the three months to October was 6.9 per cent.
“This is a substantial deceleration,” the institute said. “World trade volume growth is on a downward trend.”
Trade figures tend to be volatile but even on a longer-term smoothed basis, comparing the three-month average with the same period a year earlier, the growth in goods trade is at its lowest since 2003.
The data appear to provide further evidence that global economic activity is slowing, as growth in emerging markets has failed to compensate for weaker demand in the US.
Comments
Subscribe to our free monthly newsletter to have the latest 3PLwire articles delivered directly to your inbox. Just enter your email below:Tell us what you're thinking...