Singapore’s October exports up 8.3 percent

Singapore’s exports growth picked up the annual pace in October (Photo: supplychainasia.org)

Singapore (VNA) – Singapore’s exports growth picked up the annual pace in October and handily beat forecasts, thanks to a continued surge in pharmaceutical shipments though the key electronics sector contracted again.

Non-oil domestic exports (NODX) from the city-state last month rose 8.3 percent year-on-year, higher than the revised 8.1 percent growth the month before, according to official data released by the International Enterprise Singapore on November 16.

On a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, exports rose 4.2 percent in October, bouncing from the 4.4 percent contraction seen in September.

The exports growth came despite continued decline in electronics shipments which shrank 3.5 percent last month from the year earlier, deepening a downturn from September's 1.3 percent contraction.

Pharmaceutical exports, however, surged 89.7 percent in October year-on-year, extending a sharp 67.5 percent jump seen in September.

Earlier, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) decided to further tighten the monetary policy with a forecast that the country’s economy will maintain stable growth pace and inflation will be kept at a low rate. However, the authority also warned of risks and impacts from trade wars in the coming year.

Recent data from the Singapore Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) indicated that the country’s economic growth in the third quarter of 2018 dropped to 2.6 percent compared to the same period last year, lower than the expansion of 4.1 percent of the previous quarter.-VNA