SINGAPORE: Singapore’s exports are expected to have fallen in June on stubbornly weak global demand, a Reuters poll showed, underlining worries that Brexit could exacerbate the hit to shipments and put a choke-hold on the trade-dependent economy.
Non-oil domestic exports were predicted to slide 3.0 percent in June from a year earlier, according to the median forecast in a Reuters survey of 11 economists.
In May, overseas shipments unexpectedly jumped 11.6 percent on-year fueled by gold and pharmaceuticals sales, but the positive surprise is largely seen as a blip and unlikely to be sustained given soft global demand.
On a month-on-month, seasonally adjusted basis, non-oil domestic exports in June were seen down 10.3 percent, the poll showed. That compared with a 16.8 percent jump in May.
Singapore’s economy grew slightly slower-than-expected in the second quarter, keeping pressure on the central bank to further ease policy in the face of new growth risks from Britain’s vote to leave the European Union.
Activity at local factories worsened slightly in June, shrinking for a 12th straight month on falling new orders and exports, a survey showed earlier this month.
