Singapore’s exports unexpectedly fell last month as weakening expansion in the world’s biggest economies eroded demand for electronics and petrochemicals.
Non-oil domestic exports fell 4.5 percent from a year earlier, after a revised 3.9 percent increase in August, the city-state’s trade promotion agency said in a statement yesterday.
Singapore last week lowered its growth forecast for this year and said its expansion could slow further next year as the European debt crisis and a faltering US recovery dampen demand for goods made in Asia.
China’s exports rose the least in seven months last month, while South Korean shipments climbed at their slowest pace in three months.
Singapore’s GDP could increase 5 percent this year, compared with an earlier forecast range of 5 percent to 6 percent, the trade ministry said last week.
The central bank said it would reduce the pace at which the currency strengthens and continue with a modest and gradual appreciation.
Electronics shipments by companies such as contract manufacturer Venture Corp dropped 13.6 percent last month from a year earlier, after declining 19.4 percent the previous month.
Non-electronics shipments, which include petrochemicals and pharmaceuticals, increased 0.9 percent. Petrochemical exports dropped 8 percent. Pharmaceutical shipments climbed 12.5 percent after falling 7.1 percent in August.
Singapore’s non-oil exports dropped a seasonally adjusted 9.3 percent last month from August, when they rose a revised 7.2 percent, the report showed.
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