The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has launched a new World Trade Outlook Indicator (WTOI) designed to provide ‘real-time’ information on trends in global trade. The WTOI was unveiled in Shanghai, China recently, ahead of a meeting of G20 trade ministers. Combining a variety of trade-related indices, WTOI is designed to give an early signal of the current direction of world trade and where it is likely to go in the near future.