Singapore Exports Drop in May

June 17, 2014 Share Print 0

Singapore’s exports unexpectedly fell in May on weak shipments of electronics and pharmaceuticals to its key markets, data showed on Tuesday, indicating the city-state may not be benefiting yet from a recovery in developed economies.

Non-oil domestic exports fell a seasonally adjusted 7.5 percent in May from April, trade agency International Enterprise Singapore said, well below a forecast of 0.5 percent growth.

From a year earlier, non-oil exports in May slid 6.6 percent, compared with growth of 0.9 percent forecast in a Reuters poll.

Many economists had predicted at the start of the year that a recovery in the United States and European economies would boost Singapore’s exports, but signs of that filtering through have yet to fully materialize.

Electronics is a key driver of Singapore’s exports but it is not as well positioned in the electronics supply chain to gain from growth in smartphones and other recreational tech products.

“It will fail to benefit fully from the expected recovery in developed markets,” said Frances Cheung, head of Asian rates strategy at Credit Agricole CIB in Hong Kong, pointing to potential weaknesses in the electronics sector.

via CNBC

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Alfonso Esparza

Senior Currency Analyst at Market Pulse

Alfonso Esparza specializes in macro forex strategies for North American and major currency pairs. Upon joining OANDA in 2007, Alfonso Esparza established the MarketPulseFX blog and he has since written extensively about central banks and global economic and political trends. Alfonso has also worked as a professional currency trader focused on North America and emerging markets. He has been published by The MarketWatch, Reuters, the Wall Street Journal and The Globe and Mail, and he also appears regularly as a guest commentator on networks including Bloomberg and BNN. He holds a finance degree from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM) and an MBA with a specialization on financial engineering and marketing from the University of Toronto.