Singapore key exports rebound in Sept but US-China trade tensions cloud outlook

Singapore key exports staged a surprise rebound in September on the back of a surge in electronics shipments, but analysts said the outlook is clouded by renewed US-China trade tensions.

- Timothy Goh

Non-oil domestic exports (Nodx) grew 6.9 per cent year on year, compared with a revised 1.5 per cent drop in August, according to figures released by trade agency Enterprise Singapore on Oct 17.

Economists polled by Bloomberg had forecast Nodx to shrink 2.1 per cent in September.

Electronics exports surged 30.4 per cent year on year, compared with the 6.5 per cent decline in August. Growth was underpinned by personal computers, disk media products and integrated circuits.

DBS Bank senior economist Chua Han Teng said the rise in electronics exports was partly due to a lower base of comparison from a year ago.

"It also stems from firm external demand bolstered by positive artificial intelligence-related developments and US tariff exemptions on electronics," he said.

Maybank economist Chua Hak Bin said electronics exports have also been supported by strong demand for semiconductors and equipment such as servers, disk drives, telecommunications gear and cooling system components, amid an acceleration in data centre construction.