Singapore’s NODX suffers 8.8% drop in September

The sluggish global economy is to blame.

Singapore's exports in September rose less than expected as sales to Europe contracted and shipments to the United States slowed, adding to concerns that a sluggish global economy may bite into the city-state's exports.

According to a report by Reuters, non-oil domestic exports (NODX) grew 0.9 percent in September from a year earlier, trade agency International Enterprise Singapore said in a statement on Friday. That compared with a 2.6 percent growth forecast in a Reuters poll, and a 6.0 percent increase in August.

Reuters adds that on a month-on-month seasonally adjusted basis, NODX dropped 8.8 percent, much weaker than the 4.0 percent decline forecast in the poll.

Exports to the European Union declined 3.6 percent in September, compared with a 7.0 percent rise the previous month.

"That's going to continue because we know that the situation over in Europe, in terms of economic growth, has no upside at all in sight," said Francis Tan, an economist for United Overseas Bank, referring to exports to European Union.
Growth in NODX to the United States slowed with a 1.1 percent rise in September from a year earlier, compared to 5.1 percent growth in August.

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