16-6-2023 (SINGAPORE) Singapore’s non-oil domestic exports (NODX) continued its downward trend in May, marking the eighth consecutive month of contraction with a decline of 14.7%. Both the electronics and non-electronics sectors experienced a decline, following a 9.8% decrease in April and an 8.3% contraction in March.
The latest figures revealed by Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG) on Friday (Jun 16) were worse than the forecast of an 8.1% drop in a Reuters poll.
In May, electronic product exports contracted by 27.2%, compared to a 23.3% decline in the previous month. The decline was primarily driven by a significant drop in integrated circuits (ICs), disk media products, and parts of ICs, which fell by 39.2%, 41.6%, and 48.7% respectively.
Non-electronic exports also saw a decline of 10.7% in May, following a 5.8% drop in April. The largest declines were observed in specialised machinery, petrochemicals, and pharmaceuticals, which fell by 23.4%, 22.8%, and 14% respectively.
EnterpriseSG stated, “NODX to the top markets as a whole declined in May 2023, though NODX to China and the US rose.” NODX to the United States increased by 4.8% and to China by 3.7% in May. However, key markets such as Hong Kong (-41.2%), Malaysia (-26.2%), and Taiwan (-19.4%) experienced significant declines.
On a year-on-year basis, total trade declined by 17.9% in May, following an 18.9% contraction in the previous month. Both exports and imports fell, with exports decreasing by 15.2% and imports by 20.7%.
In April, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) opted to keep its monetary policy unchanged, pausing a series of tightening measures implemented since October 2021 to address rising inflation. The central bank highlighted the risk of a “deeper than anticipated” economic slowdown in Singapore amidst heightened global growth risks.
