Global merchandise exports could grow by 10.4% this year, hitting almost $19.6 trillion, according to data published today in the 2018 UNCTAD Handbook of Statistics, which is marking its 50th anniversary. The figures are the result of “nowcasts” based on merchandise and services trade trends which reconnect with substantial growth in 2017, when global merchandise trade increased by 10%, after two years of decline, and trade in services grew by 9.5%. The Handbook underlines that factors contributing to the surge in the value of world trade in 2017 and 2018 are linked to an upswing of global GDP growth (3.1%), combined with increasing commodity prices (+17.7%), especially for fuels (+26.1%) and minerals, ores and metals (+12.2%), as shown by UNCTAD’s constantly-updated free market commodity price index. It highlights the fact that trade imbalances between developed and developing economies have been decreasing over recent years.