SINGAPORE: Singapore’s non-oil domestic exports (NODX) fell by 6.4 per cent in the first quarter of this year as both electronic and non-electronic exports declined.
According to latest figures by trade agency Enterprise Singapore on Tuesday (May 21), this follows the 1.1 per cent decrease in the previous quarter.
AdvertisementDomestic exports for electronic products fell by 17.2 per cent on a year-on-year basis following the 3.6 per cent drop in the previous quarter. Exports for disk media products, PCs and Integrated Circuits (ICs) contributed the most to the drop.
For non-electronic products, domestic exports fell by 2.6 per cent in the first quarter following a 0.2 per cent decrease in the previous quarter. Specialised machinery (-31.7 per cent), petrochemicals (-11.3 per cent) and primary chemicals (-19.1 per cent) contributed largely to this decline.
On a quarterly basis, NODX decreased by 4.8 per cent in the first quarter, following the 3.5 per cent decline in the previous quarter.
NODX to top markets except the US and Thailand declined in the first quarter of this year due to the decrease in exports to Japan, South Korea and the European Union, the trade agency said.
AdvertisementAdvertisementGlobal economic and trade growth is expected to further moderate in 2019 from the expansion in the last two years, it added.
Enterprise Singapore cited the cut on global economic growth forecasts for 2019 by the International Monetary Fund to 3.3 per cent from the previous 3.5 per cent estimate, amid weaker-than-expected industrial production and slower trade.
Meanwhile, an improvement in oil prices since the last update may support Singapore’s oil trade, though 2019 prices are expected to be lower than in 2018, it said.
The 2019 growth projection for total trade is maintained at 0 per cent to 2 per cent, while NODX is adjusted downwards to -2 per cent to 0 per cent.
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