WTO’s goods barometer reveals strength of global trade recovery

Marked improvement following a steep but brief pandemic-induced drop in the second quarter of last year

According to the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) latest Goods Trade Barometer Global merchandise trade is continuing to recover in 2021 following a steep but brief pandemic-induced drop in the second quarter of last year.

The barometer’s current reading of 109.7 is nearly 10 points above the baseline value of 100 for the index and up 21.6 points year-on-year, reflecting both the strength of the current recovery and the depth of the COVID-19 shock last year.

In the latest month, all of the barometer’s component indices were above trend and rising, highlighting the broad-based nature of the recovery and signalling an accelerating pace of trade expansion.

The Goods Barometer is a composite leading indicator for world trade, providing real-time information on the trajectory of merchandise trade relative to recent trends.

The full Goods Trade Barometer is available here.