United Nations: Global trade continued to expand in the first half of this year despite rising price pressures.

The "Global Trade Update" report released by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development on the 22nd showed that global trade continued to grow in the first half of 2026, but price pressures continued to rise, and trade expansion showed increasingly uneven characteristics. Against the backdrop of escalating global economic uncertainty, high-tech products have become an important driver of trade growth. The report predicts that global goods trade in the first half of this year is expected to reach approximately $13.7 trillion, an increase of 12.5% compared to the same period in 2025; services trade is expected to grow by 10.5% year-on-year. Goods and services trade combined are expected to add approximately $2 trillion, with global trade expected to reach a historic high for the whole year.