There are some caveats to this interpretation. Part of the decline in exports could reflect temporary difficulties in obtaining export financing, which would hold back shipments.

For example, the reduction of pre-export finance lines for able exporters translates into no working capital, and without it, you can't operate. You can't pay for labor, supplies, or energy.

China, Japan and the U.K. increased their holdings, but other countries such as Russia, Luxembourg, Switzerland and Ireland scaled back, as did a group of oil exporters.