Singapore Total Trade Up 15.6 Per Cent In January

By Massita Ahmad SINGAPORE, Feb 17 (Bernama) -- Singapore's total trade rose 15.6 per cent over the year in January 2017, supported by both export and import growth, announced the International Enterprise (IE) Singapore. IE is the government agency promoting international trade and partnering Singapore companies in going global. The agency in a statement Friday said the republic's total exports grew 11.1 per cent while total imports expanded 21.0 per cent. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the island city's total trade grew for the fourth consecutive month. On a yearly basis, its non-oil domestic exports (NODX) rose 8.6 per cent in January 2017 due to the increase in both electronic and non-electronic products. Electronic rose by 6.1 per cent as integrated circuit (ICs), parts of personal computers (PCs) and disk media products grew 31.6 per cent, 11.0 per cent and 2.9 per cent, respectively. Non-electronic grew 9.9 per cent in January 2017 as specialised machinery, petrochemicals and non-monetary gold expanded 104.7 per cent, 37.1 per cent and 30.7 per cent, respectively. Non-oil domestic exports to the majority of the top 10 markets rose in January 2017, except the European Union and Malaysia. The largest contributors to the increase in NODX was China (+36.9 per cent), Taiwan (+75.3 per cent) and South Korea (+51.5 per cent). On a yearly basis, Singapore's oil domestic exports expanded 65.4 per cent in January 2017. Higher sales to Indonesia (+154.4 per cent), Hong Kong (+85.3 per cent) and China (+119.7 per cent) contributed the most to the increase. In volume terms, oil domestic exports grew 5.9 per cent in the month under review. On a yearly basis, Singapore non-oil re-exports (NORX) rose 1.5 per cent, due to a rise in both electronic and non-electronic. Electronic exports increased 2.3 per cent in January 2017, due to ICs (+4.4 per cent), capacitors (+182.5 per cent) and other computer peripherals (+33.2 per cent). Meanwhile, non-electronic exports rose slightly at 0.6 per cent due to the performance of non-monetary gold (+29.3 per cent), non-electric engines & motors (+31.4 per cent) and personal beauty products (+27.8 per cent). Non-oil re-exports rose in January 2017 with increases in top markets led by Taiwan +37.6 per cent), the United States (+17.7 per cent), the EU (+12.2 per cent), followed by Japan (+17.8 per cent) and Thailand (+4.8 per cent) while China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Indonesia and Malaysia registered declines. --BERNAMA