SINGAPORE: Singapore’s key exports turned negative in October as non-electronic shipments shrank with the Republic’s trade agency noting the “weaker-than-expected performance”.
Non-oil domestic exports (Nodx) fell 4.6 per cent from a year ago, according to figures released by Enterprise Singapore on Nov 18.
The agency also revised sharply downwards September’s year-on-year Nodx growth to 0.9 per cent from an earlier estimate of 2.7 per cent.
It also noted that in its August review of Singapore’s first-half-year trade performance, it had highlighted that “key downside risks remain” for its full-year Nodx forecast, including a weaker-than-expected recovery in the second half of 2024.
This could potentially lead key export growth for 2024 to come in below its 4 per cent to 5 per cent forecast range.
The October data on Nov 18 showed that on a month-on-month seasonally adjusted basis – which better captures trade momentum – Nodx declined 7.4 per cent, extending the 0.6 per cent drop in September.
Electronic exports increased 2.6 per cent year on year in October, reversing from a 0.7 per cent decline in the previous month.
Integrated circuits – also known as chips or semiconductors – which make up about 12 per cent of total Nodx - expanded 16.6 per cent. Exports of disk media products jumped 96.4 per cent, while personal computers soared 236.1 per cent.
Conversely, non-electronic shipments shrank 6.7 per cent year on year in October, after a 1.4 per cent increase in the previous month. Specialised machinery, pharmaceuticals and petrochemicals declined by 22.6 per cent, 40.4 per cent and 7.4 per cent respectively, contributing the most to the decline.
Exports to Singapore’s top markets shrank as a whole in October from a year earlier, with the biggest contraction a 22.3 per cent fall in shipments to China, Singapore’s single-largest export destination.
This was followed by Japan with a 23 per cent drop, the euro zone with a 21.4 per cent decrease and Hong Kong with a 19.8 per cent decline.
Exports to Taiwan grew 20.4 per cent year on year, with smaller expansions for Malaysia, the United States, South Korea and Thailand. - The Straits Times/ANN
