SINGAPORE – Singapore’s non-oil domestic exports (Nodx) shrank unexpectedly in October, snapping four straight months of growth, due to fewer shipments of non-monetary gold and electronics such as integrated circuits.
Nodx fell 3.1 per cent, after expanding a revised 5.8 per cent in September, according to data from Enterprise Singapore (ESG) on Tuesday (Nov 17).
Shipments also missed the 5.1 per cent growth forecast by analysts in a Bloomberg poll.
Month on month and seasonally adjusted, Nodx in October fell 5.3 per cent, less than the previous month’s drop of 11.4 per cent.
Electronics shipments dipped 0.4 per cent, after rising 21.4 per cent the previous month.
Integrated circuits, other computer peripherals and PC parts fell by 12.8 per cent, 6.9 per cent and 1 per cent respectively, contributing the most to the decline in electronic Nodx.
Shipments of non-electronics also had a poorer performance, shrinking 3.9 per cent in October after a 1.7 per cent expansion the previous month.
Exports of non-monetary gold plunged 61 per cent, while petrochemicals and miscellaneous manufactured articles fell 15.3 per cent and 37.3 per cent respectively, contributing the most to the decline in non-electronic Nodx.
Shipments reached $13.1 billion in October, lower than the previous month’s $13.8 billion, on a seasonally adjusted basis.
Nodx to Singapore’s top markets as a whole declined last month, though exports to the United States, China, Japan and the European Union’s 27 member states grew.
The largest contributors to the Nodx decline were Hong Kong (-21 per cent), Malaysia (-7.8 per cent) and Thailand (-12.2 per cent).
Non-oil re-exports rose by 2.5 per cent year on year in October, after a 5.1 per cent growth the previous month, as growth in electronic re-exports outweighed the decline in non-electronics.
Total trade in October fell 9 per cent year on year, or 3.1 per cent from the previous month on a seasonally adjusted basis, due to a continued slump in the oil trade.
The level of total trade reached $77.2 billion in October, lower than the previous month’s $79.9 billion.
Total exports fell 1.6 per cent from the previous month, after September’s decline of 3.9 per cent. Total imports fell 5.2 per cent, after a 4.8 per cent rise in September.