The new World Trade Outlook Indicator (WTOI) will “provide ‘real time’ information on trends in global trade,” said its parent agency, the World Trade Organization. Launched ahead of the meeting of G-20 trade ministers in Shanghai over the weekend, the indicator showed trade in raw agricultural products was growing faster than expected while overall, global trade would continue to be sluggish in July and August.
Trade in agricultural raw materials was scored at 106.5 on the WTOI, where a reading of 100 indicates trade is in line with recent trends. The combined reading for the seven sectors in the WTOI was 99. The indicator will be updated each quarter.
Agriculture had the highest reading among the sectors. Export orders, air freight and automobiles had neutral readings while merchandise trade volume, container port traffic and trade in electronic components were below trend lines. For agriculture, the indicator is based on customs data on trade flows.