Tanzania, March 26 -- Yaounde. Escalating conflict in the Middle East is set to slow global trade growth and push up energy costs in 2026, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has warned, even as rising investment in artificial intelligence (AI) offers a critical buffer against a sharper downturn.

The WTO forecasts global goods trade growth will ease to 1.9 percent in 2026, down from 4.6 percent in 2025, with risks tilted to the downside.

Opening the WTO's 14th Ministerial Conference, Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said geopolitical tensions-particularly in energy markets-pose the biggest threat to global trade this year.

"Prolonged high oil prices resulting from the Middle East conflict could lower this forecast by 0.5 percentage ...