Singapore non-oil exports jump 16.1% in June from low base, reversing drop in May

Nodx last month jumped 16.1 per cent from June 2019 when it had dropped by 17 per cent, Enterprise Singapore (ESG) said on Friday (July 17).

Last month’s export performance beat the consensus forecast for an 8 per cent rise from analysts polled by Bloomberg and a 6.2 per cent increase in a Reuters poll.

On a month-on-month seasonally adjusted basis, Nodx rose 0.5 per cent in June, after the previous month’s 4.6 per cent decline. The growth in non-electronic domestic exports outweighed the decline in electronics.

In May, Nodx had decreased for the first time in four months, dropping a revised  4.6 per cent year on year - confounding experts who had tipped a 1 per cent increase. It was also a stark reversal from the 9.7 per cent increase in April.

Shipments had increased in Febuary and March as well, despite the plunge in global demand for goods because of the coronavirus-induced recession.

Electronics Nodx expanded by 22.2 per cent in June, following the 12.4 per cent increase in May.

The June gain in electronic exports was led by integrated cuircits, disk media products and telecommunications equipment that were up by 29.1 per cent, 59.8 per cent and 37.8 per cent respectively.

Non-electronic Nodx grew by 14.5 per cent year on year in June, after the 9 per cent decline in the previous month.

Export of non-monetary gold swelled by 238 per cent, specialised machinery rose 45.9 per cent and pharmaceuticals clocked a 30.8 per cent gain. Pharmaceuticals, which are typically volatile, had dropped by 31.2 per cent in May.

ESG said non-monetary gold exports have been helped by the increase in demand for physical gold as a safe-haven asset amid global economic uncertainty and the Covid-19 pandemic.

Exports to the top markets as a whole grew last month, with the largest contributions coming from shipments to Japan (+ 94.7 per cent), led by pharmaceuticals, synthetic rubber & waste and personal computers.

Exports to South Korea rose 85.6 per cent mainly due to specialised machinery, measuring instruments and integrated circuits. 
Nodx to Taiwan increased by 32.6 per cent.

However, exports to Hong Kong, Indonesia and Thailand declined.

Total trade declined over the year in June, with both exports and imports decreasing. On an year-on-year basis, total trade declined by 6.6 per cent, easing from the 25 contraction in May.