Singapore’s Non-Oil Domestic Exports Up By 16.1 Per Cent In June 2020

SINGAPORE, July 17 (Bernama) – Singapore’s non-oil domestic exports (NODX) grew by 16.1 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) in June 2020, compared with the 4.6 per cent y-o-y decline in the previous month. According to the latest data released by Enterprise Singapore (ESG) on Friday, the republic’s exports of electronics and non-electronics such as non-monetary gold, specialised machinery and pharmaceuticals had increased. ESG -- a government agency championing enterprise development -- also noted that Singapore's total trade declined by 6.6 per cent during the month; easing from the 25.0 per cent contraction in May 2020. It attributed the decline to the slump in oil trade, which fell by 54 per cent y-o-y or S$8.5 billion in June 2020 amid lower oil prices, following the contraction of 74 per cent y-o-y or S$14.0 billion in May 2020. The decline in total exports eased to 3.6 per cent y-o-y in June 2020, compared to the previous month’s decline of 23.9 per cent y-o-y, while total imports decreased by 9.9 per cent y-o-y, following the 26.2 per cent y-o-y contraction in May 2020. Meanwhile, Maybank Kim Eng expects Singapore exports to be on the upside this year as the republic rides on surging pharma and resilient electronics demand. Pharma constitutes about 10 per cent of total NODX while electronics 22 per cent, said the analysts Lee Ju Ye and Chua Hak Bin in their economics research report Friday. The analysts said the NODX rose by 6.0 per cent in the first half of 2020, and “will likely stay positive in the second half of the year due to the low base effects from the electronics downturn last year.” They expect the NODX to rise by around 3.0 per cent to 5.0 per cent in 2020, above ESG’s forecast range of -4.0 per cent to -1.0 per cent, reversing the -9.2 per cent decline in 2019. -- BERNAMA