SINGAPORE’S non-oil domestic exports (NODX) slid 9.3 per cent from the year-ago high base in April, dragged down by a decrease in the non-electronics sector, particularly in volatile products.
This was a gentler contraction than the revised 20.8 per cent tumble charted in March, but slightly worse than the median 8.9 per cent drop forecast by private-sector economists in a Bloomberg poll.
Year on year, non-electronics decreased, while electronics resumed growth, data from Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG) showed on Friday (May 17).
On a seasonally adjusted, monthly basis, NODX climbed 7.6 per cent in April, reversing from March’s 8.5 per cent fall. Both non-electronics and electronics increased.
Key exports’ value hit S$14 billion last month, seasonally adjusted, up from S$13 billion in the preceding month. But it was lower than the 2023 average of S$14.5 billion, and the year-ago period’s S$16 billion.
On year, electronics exports gained 3.3 per cent in April, in an about-turn from the previous month’s 9.5 per cent fall. PCs (73.3 per cent), disk media products (39.6 per cent) and other computer peripherals (782.6 per cent) led the expansion.
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Non-electronics shipments last month slid 12.3 per cent from the year-ago period, easing from the 23.2 per cent contraction reported in March. Contributing most to the drop were pharmaceuticals (-73.3 per cent), non-electric engines and motors (-64 per cent) and food preparation (-12.9 per cent).
NODX to Singapore’s top markets as a whole shrank in April, mainly due to the US (-40.6 per cent), European Union (-55.1 per cent) and South Korea (-23.8 per cent).
But NODX to China, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Japan grew.
Overall, total trade grew 15.7 per cent in April, reversing from the 1.9 per cent decline in March. Total exports last month rose 13.3 per cent, while total imports were up 18.3 per cent. In March, total exports contracted 3.4 per cent, while total imports decreased 0.1 per cent.
On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, total trade was up 4 per cent last month, following March’s 2.2 per cent growth.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, the level of total trade reached S$111.1 billion, more than the preceding month’s S$106.9 billion. Total exports expanded 3.7 per cent, and imports grew 4.3 per cent.
EnterpriseSG in February upgraded its full-year forecast for NODX to growth of 4 to 6 per cent on year. It projected “modest growth” for the year ahead and a recovery in electronics.
