Merchandise import volumes of the Group of Seven countries fell by 1.4% in the second quarter of 2008 compared with the previous quarter, while the volume of exports declined by 0.3%. On a year-onyear basis, import volume growth, at only 0.3% for the second quarter 2008, continued the general decline evident since the second quarter of 2006.. Exports grew by 4.9%.

Volumes of Merchandise Trade

Germany’s quarter-on-quarter exports stagnated at 0.2%, while imports fell by 2.2%. On a year-onyear basis, exports rose 7.1% and imports 2.1%.

In the United States, the growth in export volumes, at 3.9% in the second quarter 2008, was the highest among the G7 countries, while import volumes fell by 1.9%. Compared with the same quarter the
previous year, export growth in the US, at 10.4%, was also the highest of the G7, while imports volumes dropped by 2.0%.

Japan’s exports fell by 2.0% in the second quarter of 2008 compared with the previous quarter while imports were down by 1.1%. Compared with the same quarter of 2007, merchandise exports grew by 5.3% while imports fell by 0.4%.

Values of Trade in Goods and Services

In the second quarter of 2008, the value of exports of goods and services in OECD countries, measured in current US dollars, increased by a seasonally-adjusted 5.5% compared with the previous quarter, slightly higher than the rise during the first quarter of 2008 . Import growth slowed to 5.0% in the same period.

For trade in goods, based on balance of payment data, the quarter-on-quarter growth for both exports and imports in the second quarter of 2008 exceeded the corresponding growth in trade in services.

Overall, the growth in export values for goods and services in OECD countries rose to 23% year on year, while import values rose to 22.6%.