Singapore exports fall 8.9% in August, marking sixth straight month of decline

SINGAPORE — Singapore's exports declined 8.9 per cent in August, marking the sixth straight month of year-on-year decline.

This follows a revised 11.4 per cent decline in July, Enterprise Singapore said in a media release on Tuesday (Sep 17).

A Reuters poll had forecast a 12.2 per cent contraction for August.

The numbers, which exclude oil, reflect a drop in exports to the majority of Singapore's top markets, except China to which it rose 38.5 per cent. 

Hong Kong (-32.0 per cent), United States (-15.0 per cent) and Malaysia (-19.7) were the largest contributors to the decline.

Total trade decreased by 8.6 per cent year-on-year in August - after a 6.2 per cent drop the previous month - reflecting declines in both exports and imports.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, non-oil domestic exports (NODX) rose 6.7 per cent month-on-month in August, after the previous 3.5 per cent increase. The growth is seen in both electronic and non-electronic exports.

Both electronic and non-electronic exports declined last month from the previous year.

Electronics recorded a 25.9 per cent drop, on the back of a 24.2 per cent decrease in July. The decline was most prominent in integrated circuits, personal computers and disk media products.

Non-electronic exports fell by 2.2 per cent, easing from the 6.7 per cent drop in July. Pharmaceuticals (-23.6 per cent), petrochemicals (-20.8 per cent) and primary chemicals (-29.3 per cent) contributed the most to the decline. CNA

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