Business News
World trade to slow this year, WTO forecasts
Apr 7, 2011, 15:10 GMT
Geneva - The World Trade Organization (WTO) predicted on Thursday a slowdown in global trade as result of the current international economic uncertainties.
After growing last year by 14.5 per cent as the world economy emerged from the 2009 recession, global trade is likely to expand by about 6.5 per cent this year, the WTO said.
The release of the WTO projections in the wake of the unrest in the Arab world leading to a spike in oil prices and crises that have the Japanese economy following last month's devastating earthquake.
But writing in its latest world trade report the Geneva-based WTO said it did not see this year's expected slower growth as part of a long-term trend.
The projected 6.5 per cent was higher than the average annual growth of 6 per cent in world trade in the years between 1990 and 2008.
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