AS per the WTO report, the global trade
expanded in 2011 by 5.0%, a serious deceleration from the 2010 rebound of
13.8%, and growth will slow further still to 3.7% in 2012.. They attributed
the slowdown to the global economy losing momentum due to a number of shocks,
including the European sovereign debt crisis.
A significant braking of trade expansion had been forecast for 2011, but multiple
economic setbacks during the year dampened growth beyond expectations and led
to a stronger than anticipated easing in the fourth quarter.
The preliminary figure of 5.0% for world merchandise trade growth in 2011
is down 0.8 points from their most recent forecast update in September 2011.
These figures are in “real” terms, ie, adjusted to account for inflation and
exchange rate fluctuations.
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