Singapore’s exports continue to drop in second quarter

Singapore (VNA) - Singapore’s key non-oil domestic exports (NODX) suffered a year-on-year drop of 14.6 percent in the second quarter, Enterprise Singapore said on August 13.

This is a much steeper fall compared to the 6.4 percent drop in the first quarter, and is Singapore’s third straight quarter of NODX decline.

Enterprise Singapore slashed its NODX forecast to -9 to -8 percent for the year, down from -2 to 0 percent in the first quarter.

NODX in the second quarter was dragged down by both the electronics and non-electronics segments.

Electronics exports dived by 26.9 percent in Q2, extending its 17.2 percent decline in the preceding quarter. Integrated circuits, disk media products and personal computers contributed to the decrease in electronic NODX, falling by 32.2 percent, 38.7 percent and 15.9 percent respectively.

Non-electronic shipments also fell by 10.5 percent, following the 2.6 percent drop in the previous quarter. This was mostly led by civil engineering equipment parts down 80.9 percent; non-monetary gold, 32 percent; and petrochemicals, 15 percent.

NODX to all of Singapore’s top markets, except the US, fell in Q2, with China down 14.6 percent; the European Union, 17.5 percent; and Japan, 28.5 percent, coming in as the biggest contributors to the decline.

Enterprise Singapore attributed the poor showing to the global electronics downcycle as well as sluggish global final demand and trade conditions. Lower oil prices amid weak global demand further weighed on oil trade in nominal terms and in turn total trade, said the government agency.-VNA