As the global recovery gained momentum, trade also rebounded and global merchandise exports accelerated sharply in recent months. Global goods exports in value terms advanced at a 47 percent annualized pace (saar) by the end of 2009; developing countries reported growth at 65 percent, while high income countries’ exports gained 39 percent in December. However, this brisk pace is now slowing, as exports from developing countries eased to 32 percent, and shipments from high-income countries dropped to 16 percent during the first quarter of 2010. Of note, exports from Germany fell, as the pace of export growth dropped from 46 percent in December to negative territory in the first quarter.

In volume terms, global exports have been growing at an annualized pace of 20 percent during the first quarter of 2010, with developing countries posting annualized gains of 26 percent, and high income economies 17 percent in most recent observations. However, in contrast with other high-income countries, Japanese exports accelerated in the first two months of 2010, growing at an annualized pace of 56 percent in January, before slipping to a still robust 40 percent growth in April–indicative of continued strong demand in the East Asia and Pacific region.

As is the case with output and industrial production growth, export growth is also becoming more differentiated among the various developing regions. In developing Europe, annualized growth reached 65 percent in the early phase of the recovery.