Singapore’s non-oil domestic exports (NODX) fell by 14.7% on a y-o-y basis in May, lower than the Bloomberg consensus forecast of 7.9% y-o-y decline.
During the month, both electronics and non-electronics exports declined.
Electronic NODX fell by 27.2% in May, extending the decline from April. In this month, integrated circuits (ICs), disk media products and parts of ICs contributed the most to the decline with declines of 39.2%, 41.6% and 48.7% respectively.
Non-electronic NODX fell by 10.7%, also extending April’s decline. This time, specialised machinery, petrochemicals and pharmaceuticals contributed the most to the decline with y-o-y drops of 23.4%, 22.8% and 14.0% respectively.
Exports to Singapore’s top markets fell with Hong Kong, Malaysia and Taiwan being the largest contributors to the decline at 41.2%, 26.2% and 19.4% respectively. Meanwhile, NODX to China and the US rose.
On a m-o-m basis, NODX fell by 14.6% to $13.8 billion.
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Non-oil re-exports (NORX) also fell by 10.1% y-o-y in May. Electronics declined while non-electronics grew.
Electronic NORX fell by 19.8% in May due to ICs, consumer electronics and parts of ICs, which declined by 27.8%, 19.7% and 25.6% respectively.
Non-electronic NORX grew by 0.6%, reversing from the 12.3% contraction in April. The rise in non-electronic NORX was due to pharmaceuticals (+74.4%), non-electric engines & motors (+13.8%) and aircraft parts (+25.7%).
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NORX to the top markets as a whole declined in May 2023. The top contributors to NORX’s contraction were Hong Kong (-29.4%), Malaysia (-21.0%) and the EU 27 (-15.3%).
On a m-o-m basis, NORX grew by 1.4% to $27.4 billion.
Total trade fell by 17.9% in May as both total exports and imports fell.
On a m-o-m basis, total trade fell by 5.6% to $94.5 billion.
