Singapore’s total merchandise trade down 7.8% in Q1

EnterpriseSingapore foresees that exports will decline 10% to 8%.

The total merchandise trade in Singapore fell 7.8% in the first quarter (Q1) of 2023 as non-oil trade declined for the second quarter, EnterpriseSingapore (EnterpriseSG) revealed in its report.

The report also mentioned that the government predicts that total merchandise trade will be downgraded to 8% to 6% due to worse-than-expected performance hit by the manufacturing downcycle and lower expected oil prices.

On a quarter-on-quarter seasonally adjusted basis, total merchandise trade fell by 4.5% in 1Q 2023, after the previous quarter’s decline of 11.3%. 

Oil and non-oil trade went down by 10.2% and 3.0%, respectively in Q1 2023. Non-oil trade also fell 9.5% whilst oil trade posted a flat performance amidst lower oil prices compared to 2022.

Under non-oil trade, domestic electronics products shrunk by 25.2% in Q1 2023, followed by a 15.9% decrease in the previous quarter. Domestic non-electronic products declined by 13.6% in Q1 2023, following the 13.4% decrease in the previous quarter.

NODX to the top markets as a whole declined in Q1 2023, mainly due to China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.

The top markets for non-oil trade, except Japan, fell in Q1 2023 with the biggest contributors to the NODX that declined were China (-22.5%), Hong Kong (-40.2%), and Taiwan (-25.4%).

Total services trade, meanwhile, grew 1.7% to reach $186b in Q1 2023.