Global trade has taken a sharp turn down, reinforcing the view that the world economy is in its worst state since since the financial crisis a decade ago.
Figures published Monday show trade fell 1.8 percent in the three months through January compared with the previous period. That’s the biggest drop since May 2009. On a year-on-year basis, trade posted its first decline in nine years in the three-month period.
The January World Trade Monitor by the Dutch statistics office includes an assumption of zero percent import/export volume growth for the U.S. as the shutdown means it doesn’t have data. On a month-on-month basis, global trade volumes were up 2.3 percent, though the figure is erratic and it fell almost 4 percent over November and December.
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