SINGAPORE: Singapore’s non-oil domestic exports (NODX) fell by 10.1 per cent in January from the high base a year ago, , data from trade agency Enterprise Singapore showed on Thursday (Jan 17).
That missed the 1.6 percent decline predicted by 10 economists in a Reuters poll. This is the biggest drop since October 2016 when exports fell 14 per cent from a year earlier.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, exports fell 5.7 per cent month-on-month in January, following December’s decline of 4 per cent due to a decrease in both electronic and non-electronic products.
On a 3-month moving average year-on-year basis, NODX declined by 7.1 per cent in January 2019, after the 1.1 per cent decrease in December 2018. (Image: Enterprise Singapore)
Electronic exports dropped by 15.9 per cent year-on-year, following the 11.2 per cent decrease in December.
PCs, disk media products and ICs contracted by 34.3 per cent, 29.2 per cent and 6.8 per cent respectively, contributing the most to the decline in electronic NODX.
Non-electronic exports declined by 7.9 per cent year-on-year in January, slowing further from a 7.4 per cent decline the previous month.
Specialised machinery (-32.8 per cent), petrochemicals (-11.8 per cent) and non-electric engines & motors (-40.9 per cent) contributed the most to this decline.
Overall, exports to Singapore’s top 10 markets declined in January. The largest contributors to the NODX decrease were China (-25.4 per cent), South Korea (-31.4 per cent) and Hong Kong (-11.7 per cent).
Total trade increased by 4.3 per cent in January 2019, extending the 1.6 per cent growth in the preceding month.
