Global Trade Growth To Slowdown Next Year: WTO

Global trade growth is anticipated to slow down in the last quarter of 2022 and in 2023 as countries around the world experience significant challenges to their economies, according to the recent World Trade Organisation Goods Trade Barometer.

The current goods trade Barometer index value is 96.2. The WTO said that the decline in the index might be attributable to the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, high energy prices, and monetary tightening in significant economies.

Negative readings in the subindices measuring export orders (91.7), air freight (93.3), and electronic components pulled down the index (91.0). All of the factors point to waning corporate confidence and declining global import demand, the news agency ANI reported.

Although they concluded just marginally below trend, the raw materials (97.6) and container shipping (99.3) indexes have lost steam.

The primary exception, according to the report, is the automotive products index (103.8), which increased above the trend as a result of higher car sales in the United States and higher exports from Japan as supply conditions improved and the yen kept falling.

A composite leading indicator for global trade, the Goods Trade Barometer provides real-time data on the direction of merchandise trade in relation to recent patterns. 

Meanwhile, values above 100 denote above-trend growth, while values below 100 denote below-trend expansion. Depending on the availability of the data, it is released every quarter.