A contraction in global services trade caused by the Covid-19 pandemic is showing signs of bottoming out, the World Trade Organization (WTO) said Thursday (17.09.2020), after its main trade index fell to a record low.
El commercial services barometer of the WTO, which is published twice a year, fell to 95,6 points from the reading of 96,8 reported in March. Readings below 100 indicate business growth below medium-term trends.
«The barometer's measurements are generally improving recent trends in current trade in services, a gap that has in the past preceded a positive change in trade momentum."the WTO said.
The WTO Services Trade Barometer is a composite of data on purchasing managers' indices, financial transactions, information technology services, passenger flights, container shipments and construction permits.
It is designed to identify turning points and measure the momentum of global trade growth rather than provide a specific short-term forecast.
Air passenger travel was by far the hardest hit sector, with a reading of 49,2 weighing on the overall index, although it too appeared to stabilize recently.
The sub-indices for container shipping, construction, information technology services and the global purchasing managers' index were all near 90. Only financial services, at 100,3, was approaching this month's mid-term trend.
The WTO said that The volume of trade in services fell by 4,3% in the first quarter of 2020 compared to a year earlier. However, the decline was not as sharp as the 5,1% decline during the financial crisis. in the first three months of 2009 and a fall of 8,9% in the following quarter.
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