Singapore key exports surge 46.2% in August; electronics sales more than double on AI boom
Economists had forecast 35.1% NODX increase; electronics exports jump 131.8%
[SINGAPORE] The Republic’s key exports jumped 46.2 per cent in August, extending July’s revised 24.1 per cent rise and surpassing estimates. This was driven by a continued artificial intelligence-supported electronics surge, Enterprise Singapore data showed on Thursday (Sep 17).
This expansion exceeded the 35.1 per cent median forecast of private-sector economists in a Bloomberg poll.
Electronics exports grew 131.8 per cent in August, up from 112 per cent the month before. This was supported by robust AI-related demand. Integrated circuits (90.9 per cent), disk media products (290.2 per cent) and PCs (237.9 per cent) contributed the most to the expansion.
Meanwhile, non-electronics shipments rose 12 per cent, in a turnaround from July’s 2.4 per cent decline. August’s reversal was driven by increases in specialised machinery (57.7 per cent), non-monetary gold (67 per cent) and medical apparatus (22.1 per cent).
In August, key exports to all but one of Singapore’s top 10 markets rose.
Non-oil domestic exports (NODX) to the European Union fell 1.7 per cent – but this moderated from the 36 per cent on-year decline recorded in July.
In contrast, NODX to all other markets posted growth last month. This was led by the US (91 per cent), followed by South Korea (87.1 per cent) and China (70.3 per cent).
Most other top markets also marked higher growth compared with the preceding month. NODX to Thailand, however, grew 8.9 per cent in August, down from 18.1 per cent in July.
Overall, total merchandise trade grew 44.5 per cent year on year in August, after the 38.3 per cent expansion in July. Both exports and imports rose.
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