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Merchandise trade continues to slow in third quarter of 2012

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29/11/2012 - Merchandise trade continued to slow in most major economies in the third quarter of 2012 compared to the second quarter of 2012.

Compared to the second quarter of 2012  imports and exports fell in the third quarter of 2012 in Brazil (by 6.8% and 0.6% respectively), Germany (by 1% and 0.7%), Italy (by 0.9% and 1%), Japan (by 2.3% and 5.8%), Russia (by 0.6% and 1%), South Africa (by 2.4% and 5.2%) and the United States (by 3.1% and 0.5%).

Imports also contracted in France (by 1.4%) and the United Kingdom  (by 1.6%) but exports in both countries showed moderate growth (by 1.5% in France, the first positive growth since the second quarter of 2011, and by 2.6% in the United Kingdom). 

Exports also contracted in Canada (by 2.7%), China (by 1.6%) and India (by 1.4%), with imports growing marginally in Canada (by 0.2%) and China (by 0.6%) and strongly in India (by 8.4%).