Singapore's trade performance improves in Q2 but largely remains in negative territory

SINGAPORE'S trade performance improved in the second quarter of 2016 but still largely remained in negative territory.

"Global growth remains clouded with uncertainties and is projected to remain sluggish in 2016," International Enterprise Singapore said on Thursday. But it added that there are "potential upsides" in the non-electronic domestic exports.

Consequently, the trade promotion agency has narrowed upwards merchandise trade and non-oil domestic export (NODX) growth forecasts for 2016 to -7.0 to -6.0 and -4 to -3.0 per cent respectively.

Previously, the forecasts were -8.0 to -6.0 and -5.0 to -3.0 per cent respectively.

Year-on-year NODX growth was flat in the Q2 after a 9 per cent plunge in Q1. Total trade, which fell 9.7 per cent in the previous quarter, eased to a 5.7 per cent drop.

Non-oil exports, which include NODX and non-oil re-exports, declined 1.1 per cent in Q2 against a 6.6 per cent tumble in Q1.

But total services trade inched up 1.2 per cent to hit S$97.6 billion in Q2, following a 0.4 per cent dip in Q1.

Domestic exports of electronic products, which accounted for 28.8 per cent of NODX, extended decrease from 3.4 per cent in Q1 to 5.1 per cent in Q2. Non-electronic NODX, which made up 71.2 per cent of NODX, rose 2.1 per cent in Q2, bouncing back from an 11.3 per cent contraction in 1Q.