Asian trade shrinks further in June
19 July 2019
Korean (light blue), Japanese (dark blue), and Singaporean (orange) exports all fell YoY in June
The China-US trade war is putting the breaks on Asian trade. South Korea, Japanese, and Singaporean exports all declined YoY in June (Malaysia is yet to release data for the month). China is a major trading partner for these neighboring economies. Chinese imports have fallen YoY six of the last seven months; slowing manufacturing activity on the Asian mainland is weakening demand for parts and production inputs from other Asian producers. Slowing Chinese growth poses a downside risk to our chemical freight forecasts for 2H 2019.