Singapore exports drop
> Surprise year-on-year fall of 1.1% in September non-oil domestic shipments
SINGAPORE: Singapore’s exports unexpectedly fell from a year earlier in September, data showed yesterday, their first on-year contraction in five months as electronics shipments posted their first decline in almost a year.
Non-oil domestic exports fell 1.1% in September on-year, data from the trade agency International Enterprise Singapore showed, the first fall since April’s 0.6% drop. The September contraction was in contrast to analysts’ forecasts for a 12.7% increase.
“We had already been expecting electronics exports to moderate eventually. It was always going to be very difficult to sustain double-digit electronics growth, both on export and production side. We have always been very cautious on this sector,” said Nomura economist Brian Tan.
In August, exports grew a revised 16.7% from a year earlier.
Electronics exports, a major driver of the city-state’s trade in recent months, fell for the first time since October 2016, contracting 7.9% in September from a year earlier.
Analysts said it was too early to say whether the data marks a minor blip or a deeper correction in the broader surge in demand for electronics goods.
Singapore and other trade-dependent Asian economies have gained a big boost this year from improved global demand, particularly for electronics products and components such as semiconductors.
Asia’s other tech export powerhouses, South Korea and Taiwan, posted strongerthan-expected shipments in September, boosted by continued strong global demand for memory and processing chips. China’s export growth also picked up in the month.
However, ING economist Prakash Sakpal said in a research note the weak September exports raise the prospects of a downward revision in third quarter GDP growth.
On a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, exports in September fell 11.0% after a 4.5% rise in August, the sharpest decline since June 2016 when exports fell 13.0%. The Reuters poll had predicted a 0.1% contraction. – Reuters