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July 22, 2010

Slower growth for G7 international trade flows in the first quarter of 2010

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) reports that merchandise trade volumes for the G7 countries as a whole continued to grow in the first quarter of 2010, but at a slower pace than in the fourth quarter of 2009. Based on seasonally adjusted monthly data, merchandise trade values remain approximately 20% below pre-crisis levels in April and May.

G7 merchandise export and import volumes both grew by 3.2% in the first quarter of 2010 compared to 4.7% and 3.7%, respectively, in the fourth quarter of 2009.

According to the OECD release, the highest increases were registered in Germany and Japan, where export volumes rose by 4.3% and 6.5%, and import volumes rose by 5.7% and 3.7%, respectively.

Export volumes grew more slowly in Canada (0.4%), the United Kingdom (1.4%) and the United States (1.6%), where growth was also down from the fourth quarter of 2009. Growth in import volumes also slowed in all three countries.

Balance of Payments data paint a similar picture for the OECD as a whole. The value of merchandise exports and imports grew by 1.3% and 3.4%, respectively, in the first quarter of 2010, down from 8.0% and 6.7%, respectively in the fourth quarter of 2009.

Balance of Payments data for trade in services show a fall in the first quarter of 2010 of 1.7% for exports and 1.0% for imports.