Singapore Oct exports up 8.3% year-on-year, exceeds expectations

The slump in Singapore - often seen as a bellwether for the health of the global economy - is the latest evidence that momentum has slowed across Asia as the year-long U.S.-China trade war and sliding growth weigh on the region's export-reliant economies.

SINGAPORE: Singapore's exports growth picked up the annual pace in October and handily beat forecasts, thanks to a continued surge in pharmaceutical shipments though the key electronics sector contracted again, official data showed on Friday.

Non-oil domestic exports (NODX) from the city-state last month rose 8.3 percent year-on-year, data from the trade agency International Enterprise Singapore showed, ahead of the revised 8.1 percent growth the month before.

The result was well above the 1.0 percent rise predicted in a Reuters poll.

On a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, exports rose 4.2 percent in October, bouncing from the 4.4 percent contraction seen in September. The poll predicted a 2.8 percent gain.

The exports growth came despite continued decline in electronics shipments which shrank 3.5 percent last month from the year earlier, deepening a downturn from September's 1.3 percent contraction.

Pharmaceutical exports, however, surged 89.7 percent in October year-on-year, extending a sharp 67.5 percent jump seen in September. - Reuters