Singapore registered no growth in its non-oil domestic exports (NODX) in August 2016 year-on-year following the 10.6% contraction in the previous month, as the increase in non-electronic exports outweighed the decline in electronic exports, according to International Enterprise (IE) Singapore.
Analysts said that despite managing to avoid negative territory, the republic’s economy remains at the mercy of global pressures that continue to pose a threat to its tentative recovery.
Electronic exports shrank by 6.0% year-on-year in August, following the 12.9% contraction in July 2016, pulled down by PCs (-21.6%), disk drives (-31.2%), and ICs (-1.9%), said I/E Singapore.
Non-electronic exports rose by 2.7% last month compared to the 9.5% contraction in July on a rally by non-electronic exports led by non-electric engines & motors (+80.7%), specialized machinery (+23.0%), and structural parts made of iron, steel & aluminium (+809.6%).
On a three-month moving average, NODX declined by 4.5% in August, following the 0.8% decrease in the previous month.
On a month-on-month seasonally adjusted basis, NODX fell by 1.9% in August 2016, following the previous month’s 1.9% decrease, due to a contraction in both electronic and non-electronic exports. The level of NODX reached SGD12.5 billion (US$9.1 billion) in August 2016, lower than the SGD12.7 billion registered in the previous month.
NODX to the majority of the top 10 markets rose in August 2016, except the EU 28, China, Japan, and Indonesia. The largest contributors to the increase were Taiwan, Hong Kong, and the U.S.
Non-oil re-exports climb
Meanwhile, non-oil re-exports or NORX from Singapore rose 8.6% in August as against the same month last year due to an expansion in both electronic and non-electronic NORX. This constitutes a reversal from the 1.9% decrease in the previous month.
Electronic NORX increased by 6.3% in August compared to the 5.9% decline in the previous month. The rise was due to ICs (+8.8%), diodes & transistors (+15.1%), and disk media products (+29.8%).
Non-electronic NORX rose 11.1% in August 2016, following the 2.8% increase in the previous month. The expansion was propped up by aircraft parts (+32.3%), primary chemicals (+152.5%), and non-electric engines & motors (+44.1%).
On a three-month moving average, NORX grew year-on-year by 2.3% in August 2016, in contrast to a 1.5% decline in the preceding month.
Month-on-month, NORX went down by 1.2% in August 2016, in contrast to the 5.8% expansion in the previous month, due to a decline in non-electronic NORX which outweighed the rise in electronic NORX. Non-oil re-exports reached SGD19.7 billion in value in August 2016, lower than the SGD20.0 billion registered in the preceding month.
All of the top 10 NORX markets, except Japan and Thailand, posted growth in August 2016. The top three contributors to the rise in re-exports were Hong Kong (+20.1%), the EU 28 (+35.4%), and China (+9.7%).
Photo: ProjectManhattan
