Mubasher: Global commercial services trade grew slower in the second quarter of this year, as it “continued to face strong headwinds leading into the second half of the year,” the World Trade Organization (WTO) said on Monday.

The organisation’s new monthly services trade barometer came in at 98.4 last June, lower than the baseline value of 100 and a recent high of 103.1 registered in July last year.

The headline barometer’s component indices for passenger air travel, construction and global services purchasing managers all fell to 95.6, 97 and 97.2, respectively below the trend in June.

Moreover, information and communication technology (ICT) services dropped, but remained on trend, while financial services index declined to 99.7, the WTO said.

However, despite the total slowdown since the start of this year, services trade has come better than goods trade, which has felt the heat directly from the escalating tensions.