SINGAPORE: Singapore's exports unexpectedly fell in November, dented by a continued contraction in shipments to China, its biggest export market, and as weak external demand clouded the outlook for the city-state's trade sector.
Non-oil domestic exports (NODX) fell 3.3% in November from a year earlier, Singapore's trade agency said in a statement on Thursday. The median forecast in a Reuters poll was a rise of 1.5%.
October on-year exports were revised upward to unchanged from a contraction of 0.5% in the preliminary report.
"I think for now, external demand still looks pretty sluggish and the subdued external sentiment will continue to weigh on NODX," said Jeff Ng, an economist for Standard Chartered Bank, adding that exports might pick up in the second half of 2016.
The island's non-oil exports tend to be volatile because a significant portion comprises pharmaceuticals and oil rigs that can vary sharply from month to month.
Additionally, Singapore's electronics exports have underperformed neighbours such as South Korea and Taiwan due to fierce competition in the sector and Singapore's lack of popular high-tech products such as smartphones.
Non-electronic exports fell 5.1% in November from a year earlier. Shipments of pharmaceuticals slid 12.5% after surging 44.6% in October. Exports of structural parts slid 91.3% in November.
Domestic exports of electronics were modest, rising 0.7% in November after falling 3.2% in October.
"The continued lacklustre print in electronics exports echoes November trade prints in North Asia where the decline was largely driven by tech-related exports," said Weiwen Ng, economist for ANZ.
"The structural element of this ongoing trade recession will persist even if the cyclical factors of the trade recession fade. Specifically, the increasingly services-led recovery in the US and higher degree of vertical integration in Chinese supply chains is trade negative for the region," he added.
In November, exports to Europe fell 6.2% after increasing 1.0% in October.
Exports to China - Singapore's largest export market - contracted 9.1% in November after falling 8.7% in October. Shipments to the United States rose 10.8% in November from a revised 2.9% increase in October.
On a month-on-month seasonally adjusted basis, NODX fell 3.8% in November. The median forecast in a Reuters survey was for a rise of 0.1%. - Reuters
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