The total international merchandise trade of the G20, adjusted for seasonal variations and expressed in current US dollars, continued to contract in the fourth quarter of 2015. Exports declined for the sixth consecutive quarter (by 1.6% in Q4 2015), while imports fell for the seventh consecutive quarter (by 1.9%).
For the year 2015 as a whole, G20 exports decreased by 11.3%, while imports dropped by 13.0%. In 2015, the decline in imports and exports was apparent across all G20 economies.
Export values fell significantly in Q4 2015 for countries that are major oil exporters, including Canada (by 5.4%), Russia (2.2%), Indonesia (7.9%), and Saudi Arabia, reflecting falling oil prices and the US dollar’s appreciation. In South Africa and Brazil, imports continued to contract (by 6.2% and 9.2% respectively) and are almost at their lowest level in six years.
Imports also declined significantly in India (by 8.1%). In the United States, imports fell for the sixth consecutive quarter (by 2.7%), with exports also decreasing for the second consecutive quarter (by 3.5%). In Mexico, exports and imports decreased by 2.3% and 2.8% respectively.
Among the G20 economies, only China (by 0.3%) and Turkey (by 3.3%) saw their exports grow in Q4 2015. Imports of these two countries also increased, by 0.1% and 4.3% respectively.
The exports and imports of the European Union (EU28) declined for the sixth consecutive quarter, by 1.0% and 1.4% respectively, with exports decreasing in France (by 0.3%), Germany (2.3%), and the United Kingdom (1.4%), while they remained unchanged in Italy. However, imports rebounded in France and the United Kingdom, by 0.9% and 0.3% respectively.
For the year 2015, Saudi Arabia recorded the largest decrease in exports while Russia recorded the largest decrease in imports (in both cases by more than 35%).
