Singapore's non-oil domestic exports in 2016 fall 2.8% from a year ago

Non-oil domestic exports fell 2.8 per cent year-on-year in 2016, against a 1.5 per cent gain in 2015, according to International Enterprise Singapore on Friday.

But 2017 is tipped to be be a better year for the non-oil domestic exports as the trade promotion agency has adjusted upwards its growth forecast to 0.0 to 2.0 per cent this year.

Total trade, which dropped 4.9 per cent to S$870 billion, is likely to grow 4.0 to 6.0 per cent as projected earlier.

Non-oil re-exports declined 3.1 per cent in 2016 compared to a 1.8 per cent rise in 2015. Total services increased 1.2 per cent to S$422 billion, after a 5.1 per cent gain in 2015.