India, China witnessed stronger trade momentum this fiscal: UN

With warning of a “potential for an economic slowdown” globally in the upcoming quarters, a recent United Nations (UN) report has said that developing nations, particularly India and China, saw better than average trade expansion in the fourth quarter of current fiscal 2024-25.

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The global trade expanded by nearly USD 1.2 trillion in 2024, reaching USD 33 trillion — a result of a 9 per cent rise in services trade and a 2 per cent increase in goods trade, said the latest Global Trade Update by UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD), covering data through early March.

Noting that developing nations, particularly China and India, saw better than average trade expansion, while many developed nations experienced trade contractions, the report said that China and India saw stronger trade momentum in Q4 2024 while the US remained a key driver.

The import growth remained positive in Q4 2024, while export growth turned negative in the United States, the report said, while adding that import growth trends were negative for Japan, Russia, South Africa, and the EU.

“India recorded an annual imports growth of 6 per cent, while the quarterly exports growth in goods stood at 7 per cent and annual exports growth was two per cent,” it said.