S’pore monetary easing bets up on gloomy exports

Taking a hit: A technician works at Rolls-Royce engine rotor assembly facility in Singapore. The outlook for Singapore’s exports has deteriorated further following more tariff hikes by both the US and China. — AFP

SINGAPORE: Singapore’s non-oil domestic exports (NODX) declined the most in more than three years in May due to a slump in shipments to China, data showed, prompting economists to raise bets on the prospect of monetary easing later this year.

NODX fell 15.9% year-on-year in May, the biggest decline since March 2016, and the latest sign the city-state’s economy is struggling in the wake of tepid global growth and a simmering US-China trade dispute.