UN: Global trade values shrink 3% in Q1 amid COVID-19

By Tuba Sahin

ANKARA (AA) - The coronavirus has led to a 3% drop in global trade values in the first quarter of this year, the UN’s trade and development body said on Wednesday.

“The downturn is expected to accelerate in the second quarter,” the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said.

The global trade is projected to record a quarter-on-quarter decline of 27% in April-July.

Pointing to 20% fall in commodity prices in March, the UNCTAD said: "Plummeting fuel prices were the main driver of the steep decline, plunging 33.2% in March, while prices of minerals, ores, metals, food and agricultural raw materials tumbled by less than 4%."