Singapore: Non-oil exports contract at softer rate in August
Non-oil domestic exports (NODX) dropped 8.9% year-on-year in August, improving from the revised 11.4% contraction in July (previously reported: -11.2% year-on-year) and beating market expectations of yet another double-digit decline. On a month-on-month seasonally-adjusted basis, NODX grew 6.7% in August, up from the 3.5% rise in July.
August’s print reflected drops in shipments of both electronic and non-electronic NODX. Electronic exports fell at an accelerated pace in the month, owing to weakness in demand for microchips, PCs and disk media products amid weak global tech demand. Meanwhile, non-electronic exports contracted at a softer pace in August compared to July and mostly resulted from strong drops in pharmaceuticals, petrochemicals and primary chemicals exports. In terms of markets, demand from Hong Kong, the United States and Malaysia fell at strong rates. More positively, demand from China grew at a robust pace.