Asia’s “trade recession” appears to have worsened in August — with India, China, South Korea and Indonesia all posting sharp declines — as a vicious circle of weakening currencies and faltering demand hits exports across the region, analysts said.
Asia, led by China, has long been the world’s most dynamic trading region. But exports this year have posted their worst performance since the 2008-09 financial crisis, falling 7.7 per cent in July to register a ninth consecutive month of year on year falls in US dollar terms, according to data compiled by Capital Economics, a research company.
Figures for August released so far show a deepening of this trend. India announced this week a 20.6 per cent fall in exports in August from a year earlier, while South Korea suffered a 14.9 per cent slide, Indonesia a 12.3 per cent deterioration and China a decline of 6.1 per cent.