GENEVA, May 17 (Xinhua) -- The strong rate of global trade expansion is likely to continue while slowing slightly in the second quarter of 2018, said the latest World Trade Outlook Indicator (WTOI) released on Thursday by the World Trade Organization (WTO).

"The WTOI's current value of 101.8 remains above the baseline value of 100 for the index but below the previous value of 102.3, which suggests continued solid trade growth in the second quarter of 2018 but probably at a somewhat slower pace than in the first quarter," said the WTO.

It said the latest results are broadly in line with the WTO's most recent trade forecast issued on April, which predicted a moderation of merchandise trade volume growth from 4.7 percent in 2017 to 4.4 percent in 2018.

"Risks to the trade forecast posed by rising trade tensions remain present," said the WTO.

The WTO said its indicator is "designed to provide 'real time' information on the trajectory of world trade relative to recent trends," but, "the WTOI is not intended as a short-term forecast."

It said it provides an indication of trade growth in the near future.

"Its main contribution is to identify turning points and gauge momentum in global trade growth," the WTO said.