EVERYTHING IS GOING SWIMMINGLY: Global trade nosedives: Fastest fall since COVID.

The World Trade Monitor, an analytical tool from the Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis, adds to this gloomy narrative with its June data showing a 2.4% contraction. The implication is evident: the world is slowing down.

Post-pandemic, economies had briefly rallied, driven by a surging demand for global goods exports. But alas, that euphoria seems short-lived.

Now, rising inflation, aggressive monetary policies in 2022, and increased domestic spending as doors reopened post-lockdowns, are causing the tide to ebb away.

Across the globe, export volumes are retracting. China’s volumes dipped by 1.5%, the Eurozone registered a 2.5% shrinkage, and the U.S. wasn’t spared either, with a decrease of 0.6%.

I keep reading about Bidenomics having so much success in reviving American manufacturing, but that’s largely government-driven malinvestment in green-energy boondoggles that are crowding out investments in profitable and innovative industries.