A pedestrian looks out to a container vessel docked at the Pasir Panjang port terminal in Singapore. — AFP
SINGAPORE: Singapore's non-oil domestic exports fell 11.3% in August from the same month a year earlier, government data showed on Wednesday, weaker than analysts' estimates as exports of both electronics and non-electronics fell.
The fall compared with a Reuters poll forecast for an annual rise of 1.0%, and followed a revised fall of 4.7% in July. Non-oil exports to Indonesia, the U.S. and China declined in August, but rose to the European Union, Taiwan and South Korea, Enterprise Singapore said.
Despite having a free-trade agreement and running a trade deficit with the U.S., Singapore has still been slapped with a 10% tariff rate by Washington.
Singapore's exports to the United States dropped by an annual 28.8% in August, following a 42.8% fall in July.
While the city-state's economy performed better than expected in the first half of the year due to export and production front-loading to beat the U.S. tariffs, authorities have warned that growth is likely to slow in the second half.
Enterprise Singapore has forecast non-oil exports growth of 1% to 3% this year, saying last month it expected some weakness in the second half of 2025.
Trade minister Gan Kim Yong last week told a business conference that U.S. tariffs on Singapore's trading partners, most of which are set at higher rates, would also affect the city-state's economic activity.
"Our exports to other countries, which will be made into products to ship to the U.S., they will be facing higher tariffs, and in turn I think the demand will slow down and our exports to these countries will slow down," he said. - Reuters
