By Amanda Lee
SINGAPORE-- Singapore's non-oil domestic exports in May contracted at a slower pace, signaling an improvement in the city-state's trade recovery.
Non-oil domestic exports from the Southeast Asian trading hub in May slipped 0.1% compared with the same period a year earlier, Enterprise Singapore said Tuesday. That was better than the median estimate from a Wall Street Journal poll of seven economists for a 0.6% decline. In April, non-oil domestic exports dropped by a revised 9.6%.
"This marked the mildest decline in 20 months," Enterprise Singapore said in a statement. "Pace of decline eased for non-electronics; meanwhile, electronics grew for the second month straight and posted the first double-digit growth in 22 months."
On a month-over-month seasonally adjusted basis, non-oil domestic exports fell 0.1% in May. That compared with April's revised 7.3% increase.
Electronics exports rose 21.9% on year in May, accelerating from the 3.3% expansion in the prior month. Non-electronics exports declined 6.0% in May, decelerating from a revised 12.6% decrease in April.
Among the main contributors to May's fall in non-electronics domestic exports were non-monetary gold, which plunged 47.2%, pharmaceuticals, which slumped 37.5%, and electrical circuit apparatus, which dropped 21.8%, Enterprise Singapore said.
Singapore's Non-Oil Domestic Exports to Top Markets (% Y/Y)
April May
Hong Kong +27.2 +73.4
U.S. -40.4 +12.1
Indonesia +5.1 +1.1
China +34.5 -22.1
South Korea -24.3 +26.2
Thailand -1.8 -6.2
EU 27 -55.1 -8.7
Taiwan -5.1 -12.6
Malaysia +45.6 +23.6
Japan +2.7 -12.7 Write to Amanda Lee at amanda.lee@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
06-17-24 2044ET
