Singapore’s non-oil domestic exports further contracted in July, tumbling 10.6% year-on-year following the 2.4% decrease in the previous month, as both electronic and non-electronic exports fell, according to the latest data from the International Enterprise (IE) Singapore.
The actual amount of decrease for the trade-dependent city-state came as a surprise to industry analysts, who had expected the contraction to come in at a much lower median average of 2.5%. This steep drop, they said, underscores the reality of the protracted slowdown of the global economy and the possibility of an economic contraction ahead.
Non-oil domestic exports
On a month-on-month seasonally adjusted basis, non-oil domestic exports decelerated by 1.8%, following June’s 13.0% contraction. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the level of exports reached SGD12.7 billion (US$9.5 billion) in July 2016, lower than the SGD12.9 billion registered in the previous month.
The republic’s top 10 non-oil domestic export markets, except the EU 28, all registered decreases in July 2016 compared to the same month last year, with China, the U.S., and Indonesia showing the biggest falls, the agency added.
Electronic domestic exports shrank by 12.9% in July year-over-year, following the 1.7% decline in the previous month, while non-electronic exports decreased by 9.5% in the same month year-on-year, after the 2.6% contraction in the previous month.
Oil domestic exports
The Southeast Asian country’s oil domestic exports, meanwhile, declined by 29.1% in July compared to the same period in 2015, following the preceding month’s 13.3% decrease. The year-on-year contraction was mainly due to lower sales to Malaysia, Indonesia, and China.
In volume terms, oil domestic exports decreased by 8.4% in July 2016, compared to the 16.9% expansion in the previous month. On a moth-on-month seasonally adjusted basis, oil domestic exports contracted by 6.4% in July 2016, compared to the 10.9% rise in the previous month.
Non-oil re-exports
On the other hand, non-oil re-exports declined by 1.2% in July 2016, in contrast to the 0.4% expansion in the previous month, due to a decrease in electronic re-exports outweighing the increase in non-electronic re-exports.
On a month-on-month seasonally adjusted basis, non-oil re-exports increased by 6.4% in July 2016, after the 3.0% expansion in the previous month, due to a rise in both electronic and non-electronic re-exports. Seasonally adjusted levels of non-oil re-exports reached SGD20.1 billion in July 2016, higher than the SGD18.9 billion registered in the preceding month.
Electronic re-exports contracted by 5.9% in July 2016, following the 0.7% decline in the previous month, propelled by a decrease in ICs, parts of PCs, and parts of ICs.
Non-electronic re-exports rose 4.1% in July 2016, following the 1.6% increase in the previous month. The expansion was due to electrical circuit apparatus, electric plant & parts, and copper.
Non-oil re-exports to all of the top 10 markets, except Hong Kong, Indonesia, the U.S., and the EU 28, decreased in July 2016 as against last year. The top three contributors to the decline in July 2016 were South Korea, Malaysia, and Thailand.
Year-on-year, total trade declined by 11.1% last month, following the 5.1% decrease in the previous month, said IE. Overall exports contracted by 10.3%, after the 3.7% decline in the previous month. Total imports decreased by 12.1%, following the 6.7% contraction in the preceding month.
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