Economic growth in the APEC region is expected to slow down this year amid soaring inflation, a protracted war in Ukraine, and heightened uncertainties, .
APEC Illustration for inflation. People buy food amid inflation and rising food prices in Thailand. (ANTARA/HO-APEC Secretariat) JAKARTA - Economic growth in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) region is expected to slow down this year amid soaring inflation, a protracted war in Ukraine, and heightened uncertainties, according to a new report by the APEC Policy Support Unit. On top of that, the continuing impact of the pandemic and virus mutations are draining resources in the region, the report said, as noted in a release issued by the APEC Secretariat and received here on Friday. The APEC Policy Support Unit is currently downgrading its gross domestic product (GDP) growth projection for the APEC region to 2.5 percent in 2022, which is lower than its earlier projection of 3.2 percent. The growth forecast for next year has also been downgraded, from 3.4 percent to 2.6 percent. "The expected economic moderation in APEC is in line with lower projections for the global econo
The APEC region, home to half of the world's trade, posted double-digit growth both in trade volume and value during the January-September 2021 period, .
APEC illustration for trade activity. (Antara/HO-APEC Secretariat) JAKARTA - The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) region, home to half of the world's trade, posted double-digit growth both in trade volume and value during the January-September 2021 period, according to an update of the APEC Policy Support Unit report. The volume of APEC's merchandise exports and imports increased by 14 percent and 16 percent respectively as compared to the same period last year, when these were in the negative zone, said a written statement issued by the APEC Policy Support Unit and received here on Thursday. Meanwhile, the value of merchandise trade rose to 28.2 percent for exports and 27.3 percent for imports, driven by higher costs of fuel and manufactured products. The update highlights that the reasons for this surge are the combined effect of a rebound in economic activity, marked by a spike in demand as well as a low base, since trade contracted in the last couple of years. Addin