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Premium: Shipping costs pointing to a rapid return to a normalised world
A key shipping index has returned to the middle of the past decade's range. It tells us global trade is returning to pre-pandemic normality.
Some time back I was pointed to the practical implications of Baltic Dry Index by a good friend whose business sells imported products. It is an excellent barometer of global trade – a critical issue for the health of open economies like SA's.
The graph above, courtesy of Stanlib's chief economist Kevin Lings, tracks the index over the past decade. It tells us a great deal about the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the world. Less business activity translates into lower trade. And vice versa.
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