GENEVA, April 6: The World Trade Organization said Wednesday that 2023 global trade growth would be slightly better than feared, but would remain "subpar", weighed down by the Ukraine war and stubbornly high inflation. Presenting their annual trade forecast, WTO economists said they expected to see the volume of global merchandise trade slow to 1.7 percent this year -- a full percentage point lower than in 2022. "Trade continues to be a force for resilience in the global economy, but it will remain under pressure from external factors in 2023," WTO chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said. Okonjo-Iweala stressed that the external pressures taking their toll on global trade made "it even more important for governments to avoid trade fragmentation and refrain from introducing obstacles to trade". Looking forward, the WTO said trade growth in 2024 should rebound to 3.2 percent, while GDP picks up to 2.6 percent.

Source: International New York Times April 06, 2023 02:35 UTC