SINGAPORE: International Enterprise Singapore, a government agency that promotes international trade and partners Singapore companies to go global, announced on Friday the country’s total merchandise trade increased 9.5 percent year on year in the second quarter of 2017. That extended the 16.4 percent expansion in the previous quarter, as both oil and non-oil trade grew. Oil trade increased 27.7 percent on a yearly basis in April-June period amid higher oil prices than a year ago, moderating from the 77.1 percent expansion in the preceding quarter. Non-oil trade rose 5.9 percent in the second quarter, following the 6.9 percent increase for the first three months of 2017.
In the second quarter, Singapore’s non-oil export grew 5.7 percent year on year as against a 10.2-percent expansion for the first quarter. The non-oil domestic exports (NODX) rose 2.7 percent year on year, narrowing down from 15.3 percent increase for the previous quarter. The authority attributes the continued growth to the increased shipments of electronic products which outweighed the decrease in non-electronics. In detail, domestic exports of electronic products hiked 13.3 percent year on year in the second quarter, comparing with the 9.5 percent growth for the first quarter. Domestic exports of non-electronic products declined 1.1 percent year on year, as that for the previous quarter expanded 17.8 percent year on year.
