Singapore's external trade down 0.8 pct in July

Singapore's non-oil domestic exports (NODX), a key gauge of the export performance of the small and highly open economy, declined by 0.8 percent in July year-on- year, said trade promotion agency International Enterprise(IE) Singapore in a news release on Monday.

The decline in exports came after a 4.5 percent growth in June. The contraction was due to a decrease in non-electronic NODX which outweighed the rise in electronic NODX, said IE Singapore.

Electronic NODX rose by 2.3 percent in July on a year-on-year basis, continuing the 7.6 percent increase in June. The growth in electronic domestic exports was largely due to PCs, telecommunications equipment and diodes and transistors.

While non-electronic NODX decreased by 2.1 percent in July year- on-year, compared to the 3.3 percent expansion in the previous month, said IE Singapore. The contraction in non-electronic NODX was led by structures of ships and boats, printed matter and primary chemicals.

Except Hong Kong, South Korea and Thailand, NODX to all of the top 10 NODX markets declined in July on a year-on-year basis. The top contributors to the contraction in July were Japan, Chinese mainland and China's Taiwan.

Non-oil re-exports (NORX) increased by 5.0 percent in July on a year-on-year basis, after the 1.0 percent rise in the previous month because of expansion in both electronic and non-electronic NORX.

Electronic NORX increased by 6.4 percent in July year-on-year, compared to the 0.9 percent contraction in the previous month. The expansion in electronic NORX was due to ICs, telecommunications equipment and diodes and transistors.

Non-electronic NORX rose by 3.5 percent in July year-on-year, after the 3.1 percent increase in June. The rise in non-electronic NORX was due to aircraft parts, electrical machinery and non- electric engines and motors.