Singapore September exports drop 6.4pc as electronic sales decline

SINGAPORE's non-oil domestic exports (NODX) declined by 3.4 per cent in September 2012 compared to a year earlier, following the 10.7 per cent decrease in the previous month, due to a contraction in electronic NODX which outweighed the rise in non-electronic NODX.

On a three-month moving average domestic exports shrunk by 3.1 per cent in last month, in contrast to the marginal 0.1 per cent increase in August.

On a year-on-year basis, NODX to all of the top 10 markets, except Taiwan, Japan, China and Indonesia, fell in September. The top three contributors to the contraction in September were the European Union, Hong Kong and Malaysia, reports Singapore International Enterprise agency.

Year on year, re-exports decreased 0.3 per cent in September, in contrast to the 3.2 per cent increase in August, which was attributed to electronic re-exports outweighing an expansion in non-electronic re-exports.

Non-oil retained imports of intermediate goods (NORI) decreased by S$733 million from S$5.8 billion in August to reach S$5.09 billion (US$4.2 billion) in September.

Year on year, total trade contracted by 3.7 per cent in September, following the 7.1 per cent decrease in August. Total exports declined by 6.4 per cent in September, after contracting by six per cent the previous month. Total imports fell 0.5 per cent, following an 8.3 per cent decline the month before.

Oil domestic exports decreased by 17.3 per cent in September, after the preceding month's 12.4 per cent contraction. The decline was mainly due to lower sales to Hong Kong (-25.9 per cent), China (-27.6 per cent) and Indonesia (-19.4 per cent).