World trade volume to shrink by 2.1% in 2009: WB

The World Bank (WB), the multilateral institution has forecasted a bleak picture of the global economy in 2009, with the weakening growth and trade volume falling for the first time in 26 years.

The WB projected that the global economy would expand a mere 0.9% next year and world trade volume would contract 2.1% in 2009, the first decline since 1982.