DHL 2009 Annual Report Download - page 39

Euro up sharply
Central banks reacted to the economic crisis with an expansive monetary policy.
 e  Federal Reserve kept its key interest rate at an extremely low level,   to . ,
throughout the entire year. By May, the European Central Bank had lowered its key in-
terest rate from .  at the start of the year to  , where it remained until the end of the
year. Interest rate policy had no major impact on the performance of the euro against
the  dollar, however. At the beginning of , the euro fell sharply against the dol-
lar, dropping from   . to . as demand for the  currency rose as a result
of its reputation as a safe haven. As optimism regarding economic recovery increased,
this argument lost force and the euro rose nearly   to   . by year-end. Measured
against pound sterling, however, the euro posted a loss of just over  .
Corporate bonds recover
Fear of a sustained economic crisis led to capital market interest rates hitting a low
around the end of  / beginning of . Over the course of the year, however, in-
vestors became more willing to take risks. Capital market interest rates rose, although
they remained at a low level. At the end of the year, -year German treasury bonds
were yielding . , . percentage points higher than at the end of . In the same
period, the return on -year  treasury bonds increased by . percentage points to
. . Corporate bonds also bene ted from the economic recovery over the course of
the year.  e risk premiums were in some cases below those seen prior to September
 when the  nancial market crisis escalated.
International trade declines sharply in crisis year
International trade is closely linked to the global economy, which is why it also
took a sharp turn for the worse in .  e downturn was particularly noticeable in
European and American imports. By contrast, the Asia Paci c region, which makes
up more than two-thirds of all international trade, did not su er as greatly from the
 nancial crisis.
Global trade volumes fell approximately  .  ere have been recent indications
that trade could see moderate growth in , however. Asia is expected to remain a
global growth engine and continue to play a key role in this growth in the future.
. Trade volumes: compound annual growth rate  – 

Africa Asia Pacifi c Europe Latin America Middle East North AmericaExports
Africa 2.1 3.2 −10.9 −11.5 −4.2 −5.7
Asia Pacifi c 2.0 −2.1 −12.6 −8.7 −6.2 −14.6
Europe 0.2 −6.5 −10.8 −11.9 −8.9 −11.0
Latin America 2.3 5.1 −10.0 −6.6 −1.8 −12.7
Middle East 3.2 −6.2 −10.9 −11.8 −5.8 −6.6
North America −8.3 −6.5 −17.6 −11.3 −12.4 −11.9
Source:  Global Insight, Global Trade Navigator, as at  January .
Imports
Deutsche Post DHL Annual Report 
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