Global trade in goods of the world’s largest economies, united in the Group of Twenty, contracted in the second quarter of 2023. Exports decreased by 3.1% and imports by 2% compared to the previous quarter.
The main reasons were moderate global demand for commodities and lower energy prices, according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) reports. The value of G20 goods exports decreased by 3.1 percent in the last quarter, while imports fell by 2 percent. In the United States, for example, there was a sharp contraction. There, exports and imports declined by 5.7 percent and 2 percent, respectively.
Goods exports fell in Germany and Italy. In France, exports grew strongly thanks to the export of transport equipment in the aviation sector. EU imports contracted by 1.2 percent, due to lower energy prices. Trade in goods in East Asia continued to contract sharply. Chinese exports fell 5.7 percent, partly due to lower sales of consumer electronics. Lower commodity prices led to lower exports in Australia and Indonesia.
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Preliminary estimates, according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, also indicate a significant slowdown in services trade for G20 countries in the second quarter, including business services, transportation services, and financial services. Exports of these services improved slightly, but growth was much less robust than in the first quarter. Services imports contracted by 0.6 percent, after growing by 8.8 percent in the first quarter.
