Singapore’s non-oil domestic exports likely rose slightly in November from a year earlier as stronger shipments of pharmaceuticals and other products offset continued weakness in electronics.
The city-state’s non-oil domestic exports likely grew 1.9% last month following a better-than-expected 7.9% year-on-year rise in October, according to the median estimate of 12 economists polled by Reuters.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, exports probably expanded 3.5% in November from October, based on the estimates of the eight economists who provided month-on-month forecasts.
Asia’s exporters have been hit by weak demand in the West as Britain and the eurozone flirt with recession. China earlier this week reported a weaker than-expected 2.9% rise in November exports from a year ago, while Taiwan last week said its exports rose by just 0.9% year-on-year in November.
In addition, Singapore firms are grappling with a strong local dollar and government measures to make it harder for firms to hire low-cost workers from abroad.
Manufacturing activity in the city-state contracted for a fifth consecutive month in November, although the overall reading was slightly better than October’s, the latest Purchasing Manager’s index (PMI) showed.
“Singapore’s electronics are not plugged into the global smartphone and tablet phenomenon and there’s been a hollowing-out of capacity in some relatively labour-intensive industries,” Barclays said in a report this week.
Strong demand for Samsung Galaxy smartphones and Apple’s iPhones and iPads have helped shore up the export engines of South Korea and Taiwan.
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