GENEVA, April 21 (Reuters) - The downward trend in world trade growth seen since the last quarter of last year turned negative in February for the first time since August 2002, the Dutch CPB economic institute said on Tuesday.
Trade volumes in the 12 months ended February were 1.5 percent below their level in the previous 12 months, after rising only 0.6 percent in the 12 months to January, said the CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis, whose data are used by the European Commission and World Bank.
That compares with a high for trade growth in the current cycle of 9.4 percent in August 2007, it said in its latest world trade monitor.
Trade volumes in February itself were 15 percent lower than a year earlier, a less steep fall than the 17 percent year-on-year drop in January.
The World Trade Organisation (WTO) forecasts that trade will shrink 9 percent this year, the strongest contraction since World War Two, under the impact of the global recession.
Trade in the three months ended February was a record 13.7 percent lower than in the preceding three months, corresponding to a 44 percent drop at an annual rate, the institute said.
That mainly reflected a 19.3 percent drop in imports of emerging countries and a 29.1 percent fall in Japanese exports.
On the volatile monthly figures, world trade volume actually increased by 0.8 percent in February after plunging a revised 5.9 percent in January. (For the full trade monitor go to: http://www.cpb.nl/eng/research/sector2/data/trademonitor.html ) (Reporting by Jonathan Lynn; Editing by Stephanie Nebehay)