The value of world trade hit a record $13.7 trillion in the first half of this year, but the surge has little to do with genuine economic growth and everything to do with the war between the US and Iran, UN economists have warned.
Figures published by UNCTAD show global goods trade rose 12.5 per cent compared with the same period last year.
However, the increase is almost entirely down to soaring energy prices rather than any rise in the volume of goods being produced and shipped around the world.
Services trade told a different story, growing 10.5 per cent and adding roughly $2 trillion to global commerce, putting the year on course for a record total in cash terms.
The report also revealed a sharply uneven picture.
China and South Korea drove growth across East Asia in the first quarter, while trade among their neighbours contracted.
Africa and the Americas expanded too, but chiefly because they imported more, not because they sold more abroad — a trend economists warned could leave both regions increasingly vulnerable as prices continue to climb.
