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Singapore non-oil exports fall 8.5% in December

A view of the skyline of Singapore. (Photo:REUTERS/Edgar Su)
A view of the skyline of Singapore. (Photo:REUTERS/Edgar Su)

Singapore’s export growth contracted in December from a year earlier, widening from November’s decline, as shipments of both electronics and non-electronics products shrank.

Non-oil domestic exports (NODX) fell by 8.5 per cent in December year-on-year, compared with the revised 2.8 per cent drop in November, data from the trade agency Enterprise Singapore showed Thursday (17 January). This compares with a 1.5 per cent increase predicted by economists in a Reuters poll.

On a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, exports contracted 5.7 percent in December after decreasing by 4.3 per cent in the previous month. The drop in November was the first after seven straight months of increase.

Shipments of elecronics products fell 11.2 per cent in December, after a 4.3 per cent growth the month before, led by contractions in shipments of PCs, disk media products and diodes & transistors.

Non-electronics shipments declined by 7.4 per cent in December after a 5.4 per cent drop in the previous month.

Exports to most of Singapore’s top 10 markets declined in December, except those to the US and China, led by drops in shipments to Europe, South Korea and Malaysia.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, NODX reached S$14 billion in December, lower than the previous month’s S$14.9 billion.

Total trade in December increased by 1.6 per cent year-on-year, after a 7.4 per cent growth in November. Total exports declined 2.5 per cent while total imports gained 6.1 per cent.

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