Singapore key exports surprise with 0.1% fall in February despite electronics growth

SINGAPORE’S key exports slipped 0.1 per cent on year in February, dragged down by a decrease in the non-electronics sector, data from Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG) showed on Monday (Mar 18).

This was in contrast with the 4.7 per cent median growth forecast in Bloomberg’s poll of private-sector economists, and a reversal from the 16.7 per cent expansion charted in the previous month.

Non-electronics decreased while electronics grew.

On a seasonally-adjusted monthly basis, non-oil domestic exports (NODX) declined by 4.8 per cent in February, in an about turn from the 2.2 per cent rise in the previous month. Non-electronics fell while electronics increased.

Key exports’ value hit S$14.2 billion last month, seasonally adjusted, down from S$14.9 billion in January. It was also lower than the 2023 average of S$14.5 billion, but higher than the year-ago period’s S$13.5 billion.

Year on year, electronics exports gained 5.2 per cent in February, up from the month before’s 0.6 per cent rise. Integrated circuits (ICs) (15.9 per cent), PCs (26.2 per cent) and parts of ICs (54.8 per cent) contributed most to the expansion.

Read More: Here