Singapore: Non-oil exports contract in January
Singapore’s external sector opened the new year on a weak footing, with non-oil domestic exports (NODX) contracting 3.3% year-on-year, swinging from the 2.4% expansion logged in December, which had marked the first expansion since February 2019. Exports rose 4.6% month-on-month in January, up from a 1.0% increase in December.
The annual drop in exports came on the back of nosediving electronic products exports. This was due to marked contractions in outbound shipments of microchips, PCs and telecommunications equipment. Non-electronic products exports, meanwhile, fell 0.1% over the same month a year prior as petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals and electrical machinery exports dropped notably.
In terms of markets, demand from Hong Kong, the European Union and Indonesia plummeted; however, demand from South Korea, China and the United States strengthened.