Despite the war in Ukraine, global services trade continued to grow in the second quarter of this year, the World Trade Organization (WTO) said on Thursday.

The WTO’s Services Trade Barometer stood at 105.5 for the second quarter, well above the previous reading of 102.5 in September 2021.

Among the barometer’s components, the passenger air transport index registered the strongest gain, coming in at 117.1.

It was followed by the services purchasing managers’ index at 105.1, and information and communication technology services at 104.2.

The financial services index, on the other hand, lost momentum and stood at 101.7.

The WTO said the services trade activity index has shown slow but steady growth since it bottomed out in the second quarter of 2020 in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The index continued to move towards recovery in the fourth quarter of 2021 with a 15.6% year-on-year increase, although it remained 8.9% below its pre-pandemic peak in the second quarter of 2019,” read a WTO statement.

Figures higher than 100 suggest above-trend growth, while those below 100 indicate the opposite, according to the WTO./agencies