Trade in services grew at a brisk pace late last year, but momentum appears to be slowing as spikes in COVID-19 cases bring a return of lockdowns, the World Trade Organization said today (11.03.2021).
According to release, The WTO Services Trade Barometer has risen sharply to a record high of 104,7 in December, after 95,6 in September and a low of 91,2 in March 2020.
«World trade in services appears to be in a recovery phase… However, Continued weakness in some sectors and an uneven distribution of COVID-19 vaccines cast some doubt on the durability of the recovery"the Organization said.
The WTO reported that its "Barometer" components related to the purchasing managers' indices, container shipping, construction and financial services rose above their medium-term trends.
Meanwhile, ICT services were weak, driven by stricter US lockdowns weighing on IT services, as well as air transport.
The WTO Services Trade Barometer is a composite of published data and is designed to measure the momentum of global trade growth rather than provide a specific short-term forecast.
The WTO published the Services Trade Barometer in 2000, with a reading of 100 marking the boundary between above-trend and below-trend growth.
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