World trade in goods is maintaining a robust recovery, but it still might falter if trade tensions escalate further, the World Trade Organization said in its annual forecast on Thursday. Trade in goods will grow 4.4 percent this year after a decade averaging 3.0 percent a year following the financial crisis. Last year it grew 4.7 percent - much higher than the 3.6 percent forecast in September - and a further 4.0 percent rise is expected in 2019, the WTO said. "However, this important progress could be quickly undermined if governments resort to restrictive trade policies, especially in a tit-for-tat process that could lead to an unmanageable escalation," WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo said in a statement. "A cycle of retaliation is the last thing the world economy needs." The WTOs 2018 forecast puts world trade growth at the top end of previous expectations, since the organization said last September that it expected 2018 growth of 1.4 to 4.4 percent, most likely around 3.2 percent. The latest forecast raises that to 3.1 to 5.5 percent based on current GDP forecasts, but "a continued escalation of trade restrictive policies could lead to a significantly lower figure," the WTO said. "These forecasts do not, and I repeat, they do not factor in the possibility of a dramatic escalation of trade restrictions," Azevedo told a news conference. "It is not possible to accurately map out the effects of a major escalation, but clearly they could be serious," he said. "Poorer countries would stand to lose the most."