Singapore's exports have shown resilience in September, with the latest data from Enterprise Singapore revealing a year-on-year increase in non-oil domestic exports of 2.7%. This follows a robust 10.7% growth recorded in August, suggesting a sustained upward trajectory for the city-state's export sector.
The three-month moving average of non-oil domestic exports reflects an even more significant rise of 9.7% compared to the same month last year. In a month-to-month analysis, exports displayed a seasonally adjusted increase of 1.1% in September compared to August. Notably, electronic products led the charge in September's export performance with a 4% increase year-on-year, significantly buoyed by a remarkable 64.6% surge in shipments of disk media products.
The demand for personal computers also saw a substantial rise of 55% year-on-year, while integrated circuits contributed a 4.8% increase. The non-electronic sector also contributed positively, with non-oil domestic exports growing by 2.3% year-on-year, following a 3.6% rise in August. Pharmaceutical shipments exhibited notable strength with a year-on-year rise of 35%, while specialty chemicals and specialized machinery recorded increases of 46.2% and 12.9%, respectively. Examining the geographical distribution, Singapore's non-oil domestic exports exhibited particularly strong growth towards the European Union, where exports surged by 37.6% year-on-year.
Exports to Indonesia also saw a remarkable growth of 52.3%, while shipments to South Korea rose by 34.9% year-on-year. However, the performance wasn't uniformly optimistic, as exports to the United States experienced a decline of 20.8% in September, along with a drop of 11.4% in shipments to Japan.
This mixed bag of results highlights the complexities of global trade dynamics that Singapore navigates in its export strategies..