FX.co ★ Singapore Exports Plunge 25.0%

Singapore's non-oil exports declined for the fourth straight month in January, and at a faster-than-expected pace, amid sharp falls in both shipments of electronic and non-electronic goods, data from Enterprise Singapore showed on Friday.

Non-oil domestic exports, or NODX, decreased 25.0 percent year-on-year in January, which was worse than the 20.6 percent fall in November. Economists had expected a 22.0 percent fall.

Electronic exports slumped 26.8 percent, largely led by significant contractions in the shipments of microchips, disk media products and computer parts.

The non-electronic NODX logged an annual decline of 24.5 percent, impacted by lower foreign demand for non-monetary gold, specialized machinery, and structures of ships & boats.

On a monthly basis, the NODX rose 0.9 percent in January, reversing a 2.9 percent fall in the previous month. Meanwhile, economists had forecast a 1.2 percent fall at the start of the year.

In January, non-oil domestic exports to the top 10 markets as a whole decreased, primarily as a result of China, the United States, and Hong Kong, while those to the EU 27 and Japan increased.

Data also showed that total trade decreased 10.4 percent in January, faster than the 7.7 percent drop a month ago. Both exports and imports fell by 9.6 percent and 11.3 percent, respectively.