ECONOMIC NEWS
OECD – The OECD’s latest global economic outlook forecasts a moderation of global GDP growth from 3.3% in 2022 to 2.7% in 2023 followed by a pick-up to
2.9% in 2024. The report notes that lower energy prices are easing the strainon household budgets, business and consumer sentiment are recovering, albeit from low levels, and the re-opening of China has provided a boost to global activity.
UNCTAD – The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development’s latest Global Trade Update reported that 1Q23 trade in goods rose by 1.9% on the
previous quarter. However, UNCTAD expects a slowdown in global trade growth in the second quarter of 2023 pointing to recent downgraded world
economic forecasts and factors such as persistent inflation, financial vulnerabilities, the war in Ukraine and geopolitical tensions. The report’s
outlook for the second half of 2023 is also pessimistic as negative factors dominate the positive. The war in Ukraine, the decoupling of US-China trade
interdependence and the consequences of Brexit have played a significant role reshaping key bilateral trade trends. There has been a decline in diversification
of trade partners implying that global trade has become more concentrated among major trade relationships, with increased “friend-shoring”.