In March 2017, the IMF published an upgrade of its Direction of Trade Statistics (DOTS)
dataset. This paper documents the new methodology that has been developed to estimate
missing observations of bilateral trade statistics on a monthly basis. The new estimation
procedure is founded on a benchmarking method that produces monthly estimates based on
official trade statistics by partner country reported at different times and frequencies. In this
paper we describe the new estimation methodology. Additional data sources have also been
incorporated. We also assess the impact of the new estimates on trade measurement in DOTS
at global, regional, and country-specific levels. Finally, we suggest some developments of
DOTS to strenghten its relevance for IMF bilateral and multilateral surveillance.
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