Global trade growth is on track for a "continued modest recovery" toward the third quarter, buoyed by stronger export orders, air freight and container shipping, the World Trade Organization said Aug. 7.

The latest World Trade Outlook Indicator, which tracks the direction of global trade relative to recent trends, edged up to 102.6 from 102.2 in the previous reading.

Growth in global merchandise trade would also continue to improve in the third quarter, WTO said.

Meanwhile, global export orders exhibited signs of plateauing, potentially due to the upward momentum in trade growth having reached its peak. This could indicate that trade growth will moderate later this year, the WTO said.