SINGAPORE: Singapore’s key non-oil domestic exports fell less steeply than expected in July as electronics shipments held steady and the highly volatile pharmaceutical exports reverted to a strong growth.
Exports of goods made in Singapore fell 0.8% in July compared with a year earlier, after rising a revised 4.5% in June, trade promotion agency International Enterprise Singapore said Monday.
The median estimate of five economists in a poll by The Wall Street Journal was for July exports to contract 2.5% from a year earlier.
Compared with the previous month, exports unexpectedly rose 2.4% in seasonally adjusted terms, after contracting 2.7% on month in June. Economists polled had a median forecast for a 2.2% contraction in July.
The city-state’s shipments to China, its biggest export destination, fell 1.6% in July from a year earlier, compared with a 12.2% on-year rise in the previous month, IE Singapore said.
Exports to the European Union fell also fell 1.6% on year, reversing a 4.3% gain in June. Exports to the U.S. fell 1.5% on year after the previous month’s 32.2% increase.
Electronics exports rose 2.3% on year, slowing from a 7.6% gain in June. Non-electronics shipments fell 2.1%, compared with a 3.3% rise in the previous month.
In the non-electronics sector, pharmaceutical exports were up 18.9%, after falling 5.2% in June.
