Global trade indicates possible turnaround in second quarter of 2023: WTO

Global goods trade is expected to witness a turnaround in the second quarter of this year due to a recent pickup in export orders, the WTO said on Wednesday.

According to the WTO's Goods Trade Barometer, preliminary data suggest that trade remained depressed in the first quarter of 2023.

"But the recent pickup in export orders points to an increase in demand for traded goods in the second quarter," it added.

These results are broadly consistent with the WTO's most recent trade forecast issued on April 5, which projects 1.7 per cent growth in world merchandise trade in 2023.

The WTO's (World Trade Organisation) expectation augurs well for India, which is struggling to push its outbound shipments.

India's exports contracted by 12.7 per cent, the third month in a row, to USD 34.66 billion in April even as the trade deficit reduced to a 20-month low of USD 15.24 billion, the government data showed.