Singapore: Merchandise trade surplus decreases in December
Latest reading: In December, the trade balance was USD +1.7 billion, following a USD +5.9 billion reading in the prior month. Over the last 12 months, the trade balance summed to USD +62.3 billion.
Non-oil domestic exports (NODX) rose 6.1% in year-on-year terms in December, down from a 11.5% expansion in the previous month. December’s reading was below market expectations. In seasonally adjusted month-on-month terms, NODX exports dropped -9.3% in December, following November’s 7.1% rise.
The year-on-year deceleration was driven by softer growth in non-electronic shipments. That said, electronic products exports surged on the back of booming AI demand. Across key export markets, NODX continued to post double-digit year-on-year growth to Taiwan and South Korea, while shipments to the U.S., Japan and euro area contracted.
Panelist insight: Commenting on the outlook, Nomura’s Euben Paracuelles and Yiru Chen, stated:
“Trade-related services sectors will likely remain supported by export re-routing, given the realised US tariff rate of around 3% is among the lowest across US trade partners.”