Singapore's NODX falls by 25%, fourth straight month of decline
Use of cranes and prime movers for port operations at PSA’s Pasir Panjang Terminal. (Photo: PSA Corporation Ltd)
SINGAPORE: Singapore's non-oil domestic exports (NODX) declined in January for the fourth straight month, mainly due to a fall in non-electronics exports.
NODX fell by 25 per cent in January from a high base a year ago, following a 20.6 per cent decline in December.
According to data released by Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG) on Friday (Feb 17), non-electronic products contracted by 24.5 per cent, extending the 21.3 per cent decrease in the previous month.
Non-monetary gold, structures of ships and boats and specialised machinery contributed the most to the decline, falling by 75.4 per cent, 96.3 per cent and 16.4 per cent respectively.
Electronics also fell by 26.8 per cent, following a 17.9 per cent decrease in December.
Integrated circuits, disk media products and parts of personal computers fell by 31.5 per cent, 36.1 per cent and 42.6 per cent respectively, contributing the most to the contraction in electronics.
NODX to the top 10 markets as a whole fell in January, mainly due to China, the US and Hong Kong, though NODX to European Union countries and Japan rose.
Exports to Hong Kong saw the biggest decline - 55.1 per cent, extending the previous month's 34.6 per cent. This was due to ICs, disk media products and specialised machinery.
A fall in specialised machinery, petrochemicals and pharmaceuticals exports contributed to lower NODX to China, which declined 41.1 per cent in January.
NODX to the US also dipped by 31.5 per cent, following a 1.9 per cent decline in December. This is due to structures of ships and boats, specialised machinery and food preparations.
Meanwhile, exports to the EU went up by 21.4 per cent, while those to Japan saw a 1.4 per cent increase.
Exports to emerging markets decreased as well, contracting by 47.8 per cent following a 37.4 per cent decrease in December.
This was mainly due to Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam (CLMV), South Asia and the Middle East, which declined by 77.7 per cent, 27.8 per cent and 37.8 per cent respectively.
On a year-on-year basis, total trade fell by 10.4 per cent in January, following the 7.7 per cent decline in the preceding month.
EnterpriseSG said at the start of the week that it expects Singapore's 2023 trade performance to moderate from the high base last year. The agency maintained growth projections at -2 per cent to 0 per cent for both total merchandise trade and NODX.
