Singapore's non-oil domestic exports fell by 8.7% in June year-on-year, mainly dragged down by weaknesses in non-electronic products, data released on Wednesday showed.
This decline far exceeded Reuters' forecast of a 1.2% drop and followed May's revised 0.7% contraction.
Maybank economist Chua Hak Bin said port congestion in Singapore and logistical bottlenecks caused by the Red Sea crisis may be hindering the recovery of exports, as market sentiment for manufacturing and electronics indicates that demand remains healthy.
Chua noted: "These disruptions may persist for several months, but it could mean a release of pent-up demand towards the end of the third quarter."
On a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, non-oil domestic exports in June fell by 0.4%.
Seasonally adjusted data from Enterprise Singapore showed that the total value of non-oil exports in June was SGD 13.8 billion (USD 10.3 billion), remaining flat compared to May and lower than the SGD 14.4 billion recorded in June 2023.
The government stated that the decline in exports was mainly due to non-electronic products, particularly the more volatile non-monetary gold, with non-electronic products decreasing by 8.7% year-on-year in June.
