Merchandise and services trade, value (nominal) terms, 2009

The US dollar value of world merchandise trade fell 23 per cent in 2009 to US$ 12.1 trillion, down from US$ 16.1 trillion in 2008. Some of this decline was due to changes in trade volumes, while much of the rest can be explained by falling commodity prices in 2009, particularly for oil. After rising to record levels in 2008, world crude oil prices plunged 37 per cent in 2009, from US$ 95 per barrel to US$ 60 per barrel on average. As a result, nominal trade developments for particular countries and regions may differ substantially from developments in volume terms, particularly for oil exporters on the export side and oil importers on the import side.