Global trade languished for a seventh straight month in May, says the CPB World Trade Monitor. The tariff battle between the US and China is heightening uncertainty and slowing growth in Europe and elsewhere in Asia. The reduction of trade between the two countries has damaged confidence and companies worldwide are wary. Other problems include: a surge in oil prices. Trade was flat in the three months through May, compared with the previous three-month stretch, after six consecutive months of declines. The overall index stood at 124.5 in May, a 0.3 per cent rise from a month earlier, when it fell 0.6 per cent. The latest reading was 0.4 per cent lower than in May 2018. Global markets remain vulnerable to shocks in confidence or sentiment this year.

China’s trade imports and exports are both below 2018 peak levels. The International Monetary Fund has further reduced its global growth outlook, already the lowest since the financial crisis, and suggested that policy missteps on issues such as trade could derail a projected rebound. The IMF also slashed expectations for growth in the global volume of trade in goods and services, reducing its estimate by 0.9 points.