Singapore expects trade growth of -2% to 0% for 2023; full-year forecast for 2022 upgraded

SINGAPORE on Wednesday (Nov 23) upgraded its 2022 full-year trade forecasts for the third time this year, even as it projected negative to flat trade growth for 2023.

Total merchandise trade is now projected to grow 19.5-20 per cent in 2022, up from an earlier prediction of 15-16 per cent, according to Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG). The agency attributed this to better-than-expected performance, driven by oil and electronics trade.

The growth projection for non-oil domestic exports (NODX) was narrowed to “around 6 per cent”, from 5-6 per cent previously.