Singapore non-oil exports continue slide in November

SINGAPORE'S non-oil exports continued to contract in November as a result of shrinking electronic exports, which outpaced the growth of other exports like gold and non-electric engines and motors.

Non-oil domestic exports (NODX) fell 5.9 per cent year on year in November, extending October's 12.5 per cent fall, according to data released by Enterprise Singapore on Tuesday.

Electronic exports contracted by 23.3 per cent in November, following the 16.4 per cent decline in the previous month. Enterprise Singapore said integrated circuits, personal computers and disk drives contributed the most to the decline, falling by 36.5 per cent, 25.1 per cent and 35.7 per cent respectively.

Non-electronic exports grew at 1.3 per cent, rebounding from the 11.2 per cent decline in October. This is attributed to an increase in exports of non-monetary gold at 249.3 per cent, specialised machinery 15.5 per cent and non-electric engines and motors 40.1 per cent.

With the exception of the United States, Thailand and Indonesia, Singapore's non-oil exports to the majority of the top markets declined in November, the agency said. The largest contributors to the NODX decline were Hong Kong at -27.6 per cent, the European Union at -10 per cent and China at -6.8 per cent.

On a month-on-month seasonally adjusted basis, NODX grew by 5.8 per cent in November, reversing the 3.1 per cent decrease seen in October. Both electronic and non-electronic domestic exports increased, Enterprise Singapore said.