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Singapore exports fall by 3.3% in January

  • Feb 17, 2020

SINGAPORE exports were back in negative territory in January 2020, dragged down by a double-digit drop in petrochemical shipments, according to figures released on Monday.

Non-oil domestic exports (NODX) fell by 3.3 per cent year on year in January, after December 2019 offered a brief reprieve from a nine-month contraction, with growth of 2.4 per cent.

Still, electronic shipments – which have been a lead weight on NODX as the global tech cycle hit a downturn – shrank by a gentler 13 per cent on lower exports of integrated circuits, personal computers and telecommunication equipment. January’s slide was less pronounced than the decrease of 21.3 per cent in December 2019.

Meanwhile, non-electronic exports dipped by 0.1 per cent, reversing course from their 11.5 per cent expansion in December.

Trade agency Enterprise Singapore (ESG), which compiles the data, noted that the decline in non-electronic NODX in January “may partly reflect the seasonal effects of the Chinese New Year holidays” during the month.

On a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, NODX was up by 4.6 per cent in January to S$14.7 billion, building momentum from the previous month’s growth of 1 per cent growth.

Yet, exports to six out of Singapore’s top 10 markets were down year on year in January 2020, amid softer demand from Hong Kong, the European Union and Indonesia. On the other hand, NODX to the United States, China, South Korea and Taiwan improved.

Shipments to emerging markets also shrank again, no thanks to the lower NODX to Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam; Latin America; and South Asia.

Year on year, total trade declined by 3.1 per cent in January 2020, eroding the previous month’s 0.7 per cent uptick, on decreases in both exports and imports.

ESG on Monday trimmed its forecast for full-year NODX. The yearly change in 2020 NODX is now expected to range between a 0.5 per cent decrease and a 1.5 per cent rise.

Source: https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/singapore-exports-fall-by-33-in-january