October 19, 2015

In September, non-oil domestic exports (NODX) increased a meager 0.3% over the same month last year, which nevertheless contrasted the 8.4% decrease tallied in August. The result was higher than the 3.8% decline that the markets had expected.



September’s increase reflected improvements in six of the country’s top ten export markets, with exports to Japan recording a significant rebound and exports to Europe decreasing at a lower rate in September. However, exports to China, Singapore’s largest export recipient, contracted at a faster rate than in August. According to International Enterprise (IE) Singapore, September’s result reflected growth in electronics shipments while non-electronics exports contracted at a slower rate compared to August. Exports of electronic products in September increased 5.7%, which contrasted the 2.7% decline tallied in the previous month. Meanwhile, non-electronics fell 1.9%, which was much a less severe drop than the 10.7% decline recorded in August.



On a month-on-month seasonally-adjusted basis, exports increased 2.8% in September, which contrasted August’s 4.6% decrease.

FocusEconomics Consensus Forecast panelists see overall nominal exports expanding 6.0% in 2015, which would bring exports to a total of USD 412 billion. For 2016, the panel foresees exports growing 4.5% and thus reaching a total of USD 431 billion by the end of the year.