Global trade in goods recovered in the third quarter
The volume of global trade in goods rebounded in the third quarter, rising 11.6 percent from the previous quarter, but still down 5.6 percent from the same period last year, as North America and Europe eased "blockade" measures and major economies adopted fiscal and monetary policies to support their economies, according to data released by the World Trade Organization on Dec. 18. From the perspective of export performance, the recovery momentum of the regions with higher degree of industrialization is strong, while the recovery pace of the regions with natural resources as the main export products is relatively slow. In the third quarter of this year, the volume of goods exported from North America, Europe and Asia increased by double digits compared with the previous quarter. According to the import data, the volume of goods imported from North America and Europe rebounded sharply compared with the second quarter, but the volume of goods imported from all regions of the world fell compared with the same period last year. Data show that in the first three quarters of this year, the volume of global trade in goods fell 8.2 percent year on year. According to the WTO, the recent rebound of COVID-19 in some regions may affect trade in goods in the fourth quarter and further affect the performance of the whole year. Preliminary data showed that global trade in goods grew at a slower pace in October than in September. In October, the WTO forecast that global trade in goods would contract by 9.2 per cent this year and grow by 7.2 per cent next year, but trade would be well below pre-outbreak levels.