SHANGHAI’S foreign trade is set to remain strong in the second half of the year but the pace of growth may slow amid global economic uncertainty and slower gains of commodity prices, local customs said yesterday.

The recovery of global demand as well as demand by Shanghai consumers and higher commodity prices have boosted the city’s foreign trade to double digit in the first six months, the first since 2012, said Zheng Jugang, vice director and spokesman of Shanghai customs.

Shanghai’s foreign trade in the first six months jumped 18.7 percent from a year earlier to 1.55 trillion yuan (US$228 billion), reversing a 0.4 percent drop in the same period last year, according to official data.