Japan 'among hardest hit by China-induced global trade slowdown'

Tokyo

WORLD trade shrank by nearly 13 per cent last year, the Japan External Trade Organisation (Jetro) said on Tuesday, noting that global growth was sluggish despite unprecedented monetary easing and stepped-up fiscal support.

It said in a report that, going by its estimates, world merchandise trade fell by 12.7 per cent from the previous year to US$16.4 trillion; this was the first decline in the six years since the global financial crisis.