SINGAPORE: Singapore’s key exports fell for the seventh consecutive month in April, weighed down by declines in both electronic and non-electronic products.
Non-oil domestic exports (NODX) fell 9.8 per cent in April from the same month a year earlier, data from Enterprise Singapore showed on Wednesday (May 17), extending the 8.3 per cent contraction in March.
The latest figure is worse than a Reuters poll forecast of a 9.4 per cent drop.
April’s slump was led by a 23.3 per cent fall in electronic shipments following the 22.3 per cent decline in March.
Integrated circuits, personal computers and disk media products contributed the most to the decline, falling by 21.1 per cent, 50.3 per cent and 41.6 per cent respectively.
Non-electronic exports meanwhile dipped 5.8 per cent following the 4.7 per cent decrease in March.
The biggest declines were in primary chemicals, petrochemicals and food preparations – falling by 57.7 per cent, 32.8 per cent and 27 per cent respectively.
On a month-on-month seasonally adjusted basis, NODX rose 2.7 per cent in April, following March’s 18.4 per cent growth. This was higher than analysts’ predictions for a 3 per cent decline.