NODX eases down growth to 5% in August

The growth in non-electronic NODX outweighed the declines in electronics.

Singapore’s non-oil domestic exports (NODX) grew by 5% YoY in August, which is lower compared to the 11% expansion recorded in July 2018, Enterprise Singapore (ESG) revealed. The August expansion was pushed by the growth in non-electronic NODX which outweighed the decline in electronics.

On a MoM basis, NODX rose 0.4% from the July’s 3.6% MoM growth. Enterprise Singapore noted that NODX hit $15.6b in August which is similar to the previous month. Meanwhile, non-oil retained imports of intermediate goods (NORI) dropped by $1.1b to $5.4b in August.

The growth in total trade eased down to 13.3% YoY from 17.4% YoY in July. Total exports jumped 13.5% in August after the 13.3% growth from the previous month whilst total imports’ expansion cooled down to 13.2% from a growth of 22% in July.

According to ESG, electronic NODX slipped 1.5% YoY, following the 5.8% decrease in July. Diodes & transistors, parts of PCs and ICs fell by 28.8%, 47.8% and 1.% respectively, contributing the most to the decrease in electronic domestic exports.

Meanwhile, non-electronic NODX grew 7.8% in August 2018, which is lower compared to the 18.6% expansion in July. Growth in food preparations segment surged by 82.8% whilst pharmaceuticals (+33.4%) and measuring instruments (+22.2%) also saw significant growth rates.

NODX to the majority of the top 10 markets rose in August 2018, except China, South Korea, Hong Kong and Japan. US (29.3%) was the largest contributor to the increase, followed by the EU (+14.1%) and Indonesia (+27.6%).

Meanwhile, growth of NODX to emerging markets cooled down to 27.7% in August, following the 41.1% expansion in July.

Oil domestic exports grew by 36%, cooling down from the 38.2% rise in July. The August growth was backed by higher sales to Malaysia, Indonesia, and Hong Kong. In volume terms, oil domestic exports dipped 0.2% in August 2018.

For non-oil re-exports (NORX), growth jumped to 14.1% extending the 8.4% increase in July amidst the growth in both electronic and non-electronic NORX.

According to ESG, electronic NORX inched up 1.2% YoY due to ICs (+3.9%), telecommunications equipment (+33.9%) and parts of PCs (+5.9%). On the other hand, non-electronic NORX expanded by 29.7% in August following the 23.4% rise from last month amidst the growth in non-monetary gold (+314.5%), non-electric engines & motors (+102.9%) and electrical circuit apparatus (+86.6%).