The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in May 2024 announced its latest trade numbers. After falling in 2023, G20 merchandise exports (current US dollars) bounced back in Q1 2024. Compared with Q4 2023, exports rose by 1.9 %, driven by strong growth from China, while imports slipped by 0.2 %, partly reflecting lower energy prices. According to preliminary estimates, G20 services trade continued to expand in Q1 2024^[1]: estimated exports and imports grew by 2.2 % and 3.5 %, respectively, supported in part by higher international travel (Charts 1 and 2).

Merchandise exports increased by 1.4 % in the United States, boosted by consumer goods and agricultural products, while they fell by 0.6 % in Canada. Capital goods—especially computers and semiconductors—were the main contributors to import growth in both countries. Exports in the European Union rose by 0.9 %, mainly on stronger chemical sales from France and Germany, whereas imports declined, though less sharply than in the previous quarter, owing to lower energy purchases. In the United Kingdom, both exports and imports dropped due to weaker trade in machinery and transport equipment.

East Asia recorded a sharp rise in exports: steel and machinery fuelled China’s +6.6 % growth, while semiconductors and computers drove Korea’s exports. By contrast, weak automobile sales weighed on Japan (-2.1 %). Lower commodity sales hurt exports from Australia (-2.1 %), Indonesia (-0.9 %) and Brazil (-3.5 %).

On the services side, US exports grew by 1.6 % on higher travel and financial-services receipts, while imports surged by 4.1 % (travel, transport and financial services). In Canada, services exports were flat but imports rose by 1.3 %. Germany’s exports edged lower on weaker financial and business services, whereas imports increased by 1.4 % as travel spending rose. In France, higher transport and travel receipts boosted exports, and strong travel outlays lifted imports. The United Kingdom posted robust export growth, led by travel and transport services, while imports rose by 1.7 % on higher transport and business-services spending.

Japan saw services exports plunge (-8.3 %) owing to a sharp drop in intellectual-property and business-services income, whereas imports increased by 1.5 %. In India, services exports and imports grew by 2.4 % and 6.6 %, respectively. China’s services trade jumped: a surge in travel spending pushed imports up by 6.3 %, while broad-based gains across all categories lifted exports by 9.9 %.

^[1] Q1 2024 services-trade values are preliminary estimates based on available data covering about 60 % of G20 exports and imports (excluding African Union members other than South Africa).