Merchandise trade continues growth in Q1

Merchandise trade continues growth in Q1    Merchandise trade continued to grow strongly across major economies in the first quarter of 2011, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said Monday.
   Total imports of G7 and BRICS countries grew 11 percent in the first quarter compared to 8.2 percent in the fourth quarter 2010. Total exports grew 8.5 percent, compared to 8.2 percent in the previous.
   The G7 countries are Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom and United States. The BRICS are Brazil, the Russian Federation, India, China and South Africa.
   China's trade surplus fell in the first quarter as import growth (8.4 percent) outpaced export growth (3 percent). China's trade surplus in the first quarte was $18 billion.
   In the United States, the trade deficit increased to $188 billion as import growth (11.5 percent) outpaced export growth (6.4 percent).
   Import growth also outpaced export growth in Germany, Canada, France, Japan, India, Russia and South Africa, while exports increased faster than imports in Italy, the United Kingdom and Brazil.
   Additional information is available here.