Global trade flows continue to surge. According to the Dutch Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis, the volume of world trade grew 1.8% in May, the eighth increase in nine months. World trade volume is now only 3% below its peak level reached early in 2008. As Today’s Hot Charts shows, trade flows are currently expanding at a 23% annual clip on a year over year basis. On the flip side, this surge in trade flows pushed global industrial production virtually back to its pre-recession level. Despite the fact that IP is still down 9.8% in advanced countries, production is already up a whopping 11.1% in emerging markets since the pre-recession peak. After today’s data on trade flows, we can now say that industrial production, on a global basis, has left the stage of recovery and can now be qualified as being in an expansion mode. (NBF Economy Strategy)