Can the stronger greenback revive Singapore’s flailing exports?

Not really, experts say.

With the global interest rates poised to rise for the first time in almost a decade, analysts expect that the Singapore dollar will steadily weaken against the greenback.

This will make Singapore’s exports cheaper and more attractive to international customers. However, analysts at UOB warn that even this boost may not be enough to rescue the country’s flagging external trade.

“We think that the more important factor for 2016 is not how much cheaper our exports can get (due to FX effects), but whether the final demand conditions (particularly coming from the G3 and China) will pick up,” said UOB.

“For now, we have not seen any case for stronger economic growth in the near term yet,” UOB added. 

Despite this, UOB remains hopeful that economic recovery in the US will boost demand and benefit export-oriented countryies like Singapore.

“NODX may start growing at a faster pace in 2H 2016. We forecast 2016 NODX growth at 2.1%, from the 0% growth rate in 2015,” UOB said.