Economy

"UNCTAD": Global trade continues its growth

Date of publication: July 23, 2026 07:52 KSA

Despite increasing price pressures

Global trade continued its expansion during the first half of 2026, supported by rising prices of high-tech products, according to the latest edition of the 'Global Trade Update' report, released yesterday, Wednesday, by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The report stated that global merchandise trade reached about $13.7 trillion during the first half of 2026, an increase of 12.5% compared to the same period in 2025, noting that services trade recorded growth of 10.5%, adding a total of about $2 trillion to global trade and putting it on track to record an annual record. It pointed out that a large part of this growth reflects price increases rather than volume increases, while maritime navigation disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and concerns about energy supplies have increased energy, transport, logistics and manufacturing costs.

In the report, traded commodity prices were up by about 3.6% in the first quarter, then by about 5% in the second quarter, driven by higher energy prices and some raw materials. It showed that East Asia established itself as a major driver of trade growth in the first quarter, thanks to strong import and export performance in both China and South Korea, while the rest of the Asian sub-regions saw a decline in trade. Africa and the Americas experienced import growth exceeding export growth, and they played a pivotal role in 'South-South' trade, which contracted among developing economies. By sector, demand related to artificial intelligence, digital technologies and electric mobility supported strong growth in technology goods trade, with trade in critical metals jumping by 38%, semiconductors by 25%, batteries by 15%, ICT products by 14%, and electric vehicles by 11%. In contrast, trade in chemical products, iron and steel, and some equipment related to renewable technologies declined, while trade in fossil fuels rose mainly.