NODX tipped to drop 1% in 2020

It could worsen if the COVID-19 outbreak becomes more widespread.

Non-oil domestic exports (NODX) is projected to decline 1% in 2020 after a brief recovery in December as the economy braces for a weaker growth on the back of the COVID-19 outbreak, according to a note by UOB.

This is also expected to drag overall economic growth, with the city’s GDP now expected to grow by merely 0.5% YoY in 2020.

The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) downgraded Singapore’s growth outlook to between dipping 0.5% and climbing 1.5% in 2020, warning that outward-oriented sectors like manufacturing and wholesale trade will be affected by the COVID-19 outbreak.

The outlook for NODX could fall worse than expected, if the COVID-19 outbreak becomes more widespread, severe and protracted than expected.

According to Enterprise Singapore, NODX dipped 3.3% YoY to $14.7b, following the 2.4% growth to $14b recorded in December 2019. This was led by crashes in personal computers (32.2%), telecommunications equipment (25.1%), disk drives (23.3%) and integrated circuits (20.5%).