SINGAPORE: Singapore’s key exports saw slower growth in February ahead of supply chain disruptions from the Iran war and the threat of higher US tariffs.
Electronics shipments continued to see strong growth on demand powered by the artificial intelligence boom, but exports of non-electronics products fell.
Non-oil domestic exports (NODX) expanded 4%, after a revised 9.2% growth in January, according to figures released by Enterprise Singapore on March 17.
The growth was less than the 5.3% forecast by analysts in a Bloomberg poll.
NODX grew 6.7% in aggregate over January and February – smoothing out the impact from the shifting Chinese New Year holidays. Electronics exports jumped 43.2% in February from a year earlier.
Disk media products expanded the most at 96.3%, while integrated circuit exports rose 51.2%, and personal computer exports rose 22.9%.
Non-electronics NODX dropped 6.9% year-on-year, after a 3.1% decline in January. The declines were seen across food preparations, petroche- micals and non-monetary gold.
In terms of markets, exports to South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong rose the most compared with a year ago, while exports to the United States and Indonesia contracted.
Non-electronics exports to the United States slumped 59.2% from a year ago, while electronics exports to the country climbed by almost 95%.
There is more uncertainty ahead. The United States on March 11 launched a trade probe on Singapore and 15 other trading partners for excess manufacturing, which could allow the Trump administration to impose tariffs as high as 100% or more on specific goods.
It announced a second probe on March 12 into 60 economies – including Singapore – over failures to take action on forced labour and whether these burden or restrict US trade.
The war with Iran, which was launched by the United States and Israel on Feb 28, has also effectively closed a waterway that typically handles a fifth of the world’s oil supplies, with no end to the conflict in sight. — The Straits Times/ANN
