SINGAPORE — Singapore’s non-oil domestic exports rose at a faster-than-expected pace in December, driven by growing shipments of electronics and strong demand from major trading partners such as China and the European Union.
Non-oil domestic exports from the Southeast Asian trading hub climbed 18.4% in December from a year earlier, Enterprise Singapore said Monday. The result beat the median estimate for an 11.8% rise in a survey of seven economists by The Wall Street Journal, and compared with a 24.2% increase in November.
Measured on month, Singapore’s non-oil domestic exports rose 3.7% in seasonally adjusted terms in December, up from November’s 1.0% growth. The median projection from six economists was for a 0.75% rise in December.
Exports of electronics climbed 13.6% in December from a year earlier versus a 29.2% expansion in the previous month. Non-electronics exports grew 19.9%, following a 22.6% rise.
The main contributors to non-electronic domestic exports in December were pharmaceuticals, which jumped 72.3%, specialized machinery, which climbed 22.5%, and petrochemicals, which rose 28.4%.
Non-oil domestic exports to China climbed 36.3% on the back of steep jumps in pharmaceuticals, specialized machinery and petrochemicals. Exports to the European Union rose 32.5%, thanks to substantial increases in specialized machinery, primary chemicals and pharmaceuticals.
Exports to the U.S. slumped 25.6%, swinging from a 0.9% rise in November.