BloombergGlobal trade might shrink through the end of the year as countries around the world continue to grapple with a manufacturing-led slowdown. An index by freight giant DHL fell to a four year-low this month, capturing the ongoing uncertainty for the global economy amid still-elusive negotiations on a US-China trade deal, a slowdown in China and an industrial slump in Germany. Of the seven countries in the index — including the US, Japan, China and Germany — all but one posted sub-50 readings. It is a “sobering picture of gloomy prospects for the world economy and global trade,” said Eswar Prasad, a professor of trade policy and economics at Cornell University in New York State. “Persistent trade tensions, elevated political instability and geopolitical risks, and concerns about the limited efficacy of monetary stimulus, continue to erode business and consumer sentiment.”

Source: Taipei Times November 28, 2019 15:56 UTC