SINGAPORE: Singapore's non-oil domestic exports grew by 4.0% in February from a year earlier, government data showed on Tuesday, led by exports of integrated circuits and disk media products, while non-electronics exports declined.
The exports growth compared with a Reuters poll forecast of a 5.5% increase.
Among key markets, exports to South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong rose, while shipments to Indonesia and the United States were lower than a year earlier, Enterprise Singapore said. Last week, the U.S. said it was launching unfair trade practice investigations into 16 key trading partners, including Singapore.
It cited the city-state's "large or persistent trade surpluses" and the nation's expansion of manufacturing capacity despite a recent drop in its industrial occupancy rate.
In response, the Trade Ministry said Singapore ran a total trade deficit with the U.S. of about $27 billion, and said industrial space occupancy rates were at around 90%. - Reuters
