SINGAPORE – Singapore’s non-oil domestic exports (NODX) declined 25 percent year-on-year in January, led by falls in both electronics and non-electronic products.
This was a steeper decline than the 20.6 percent year-on-year fall in December 2022 and compared with expectations for a 22 percent fall in a Reuters poll.
OCBC economist Selena Ling said the drop was close to her 24.6-percent forecast, but would have been worse without growth in pharmaceuticals. Pharmaceuticals exports almost doubled in January to S$1.76 billion ($1.32 billion) from December.
On a month-on-month seasonally adjusted basis, NODX increased 0.9 percent in January, following December’s 2.9 percent drop.
Non-domestic oil exports to Singapore’s top 10 markets in January declined as a whole.
Exports to China fell 41.1 percent, due to lower shipments of specialized machinery, petrochemicals and pharmaceuticals, while exports to the United States fell by 31.5 percent due to declines in sales of structures of ships and boats, specialized machinery and food preparations.
“I expect 1Q23 to remain soft on slowing global demand conditions and weak electronics momentum,” Ling said