Singapore's non-oil exports up 7.7% in Aug

By Rhany Chairunissa Rufinaldo

JAKARTA (AA) - Singapore's non-oil domestic exports (NODX) rose 7.7% from the same month last year, official data showed Thursday.

Enterprise Singapore, a statutory board under the Ministry of Trade and Industry, said in a statement that the growth was mainly driven by non-monetary gold, specialized machinery and food preparations.

The board said total NODX to the top 10 markets grew in August 2020, though exports to nearby Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Hong Kong dropped.

The largest contributors to the growth were China, the EU 27 (excluding the UK) and the US.

Non-oil domestic exports increased by 0.1% to 15.6 billion Singapore dollars ($11.4 billion) in August, after a 3.1% fall in July 2020.

Electronic exports rose 5.7% in August from the same period last year and 2.8% from the previous month.

Non-electronic NODX climbed 8.3% in August, following a 6.9% increase in July.

Meanwhile, the data showed domestic oil exports plunged 49% in August amid lower oil prices, after falling 50.9% in the previous month.

Due to the falling oil trade, total trade fell by 6.9% in August from the same period last year, after a 9% drop in July.

Total exports declined by 4.7% in August, while total imports plunged by 9.4% in the same period.

August's total trade figure reached 80.5 billion Singapore dollars, higher than July's 75.7 billion.