Singapore exports slide deepens in January; economists mixed on recovery

AS SINGAPORE’S non-oil domestic exports (NODX) dropped 25 per cent in January, declining for the fourth consecutive month amid weak global demand, some economists say that the worst is over, while others believe the trade situation could deteriorate.

January’s fall, deepening from December 2022’s 20.6 per cent decline on the year, marked the worst start to the year since January 2009 during the Global Financial Crisis period, OCBC chief economist Selena Ling said. It also outstripped the median 21.9 per cent decline forecast by economists in a Bloomberg poll.

The plunge to just S$13.3 billion, the lowest NODX value since June 2019, also marked the worst pace of decline in a decade, said Maybank economists Chua Hak Bin and Lee Ju Ye. Still, the weakness is “consistent with performance in other export-oriented countries”, they added.