Singapore\'s exports plunge by 30.6%

The non-oil domestic exports of Singapore declined by 30.6 percent year on year in February, the trade promotion agency International Enterprise Singapore said on Monday. NODX, or non-oil domestic exports, is a key gauge of the export performance of Singapore, which is a free trade hub and one of the top petrochemical centers in the world. In comparison, the non-oil domestic exports of Singapore rose by 0.4 percent year on year in January. International Enterprise Singapore said the decline in February was due to a contraction in both electronic and non-electronic exports. Electronic NODX in February decreased by 27.4 percent year on year, while non-electronic NODX fell by 32 percent, compared to an increase of 3.7 percent in the previous month. The contraction in non-electronic NODX was led by structures of ships and boats, which went down 99.4 percent, as well as the pharmaceuticals and electrical machinery, which fell by 56.5 percent and 54.5 percent, respectively. Exports to nine of the top 10 markets decreased in February. The top three contributors to the export contraction were the European Union, the United States and China\'s Hong Kong. On a month-on-month basis, the NODX decreased by 2.4 percent in February, following the previous month\'s 1.8 percent decline.