SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Singapore’s non-oil domestic exports (NODX) declined 25% year-on-year in January, led by falls in both electronics and non-electronic products.
This was a steeper decline than the 20.6% year-on-year fall in December 2022 and compared with expectations for a 22.0% fall in a Reuters poll.
OCBC economist Selena Ling said the drop was close to her 24.6% forecast, but would have been worse without growth in pharmaceuticals. Pharmaceuticals exports almost doubled in January to S$1.76 billion ($1.32 billion) from December.
On a month-on-month seasonally adjusted basis, NODX increased 0.9% in January, following December’s 2.9% drop.
Non-domestic oil exports to Singapore’s top 10 markets in January declined as a whole.
Exports to China fell 41.1%, due to lower shipments of specialised machinery, petrochemicals and pharmaceuticals, while exports to the United States fell by 31.5% due to declines in sales of structures of ships and boats, specialised machinery and food preparations.
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“I expect 1Q23 to remain soft on slowing global demand conditions and weak electronics momentum,” Ling said.
($1 = 1.3377 Singapore dollars)
(Reporting by Xinghui Kok; Editing by Ed Davies)