World imports remained unchanged in February 2012

According to our estimates, in February, world trade stabilized at the level of last January. A slight increase in imports of developed economies occurred during the first two months of the year, but following an uneven pattern (contraction in February after the January increase, unexpected rebound of European imports). Regarding emerging countries, the trend is towards a stability of imports in volume but with contrasted developments: strong growth in OPEC countries, hesitation in Asia.