Photo: think.ing.com

According to official data released on Friday (17 Jan), following nine months of contraction, Singapore’s exports made an unexpected rebound in December last year.

Economists have pointed out that the contraction in electronic exports yet continues and it remains to be seen if this recovery is a one-off event or that it is sustainable.

Data from the trade agency Enterprise Singapore showed that December’s year-on-year non-oil domestic exports increased by 2.4 per cent after the 5.9 per cent fall in November last year. This figure was above the forecast done by economists in a Reuters poll at 1.8 per cent decline.

The increase in pharmaceutical shipments by 34.7 per cent on-year contributed to December’s increase in non-oil domestic exports. This is despite the decline in electronics export by 21.3 per cent and 23.3 per cent in December and November respectively.

Sanjay Mathur, the chief economist for Southeast Asia at ANZ, an Australian multinational banking and financial services company headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, said that “It is imperative for a sustained improvement in exports that the electronics sector rebounds… Pharma will continue to be volatile and it is not an issue that is related to the business cycle per se. What is related to the business cycle is the electronics sector.”

Last year, the Singapore economy grew at its slowest pace ever in 10 years. This can be attributed to the lingering cyclical contraction in the electronic sectors as well as the ongoing US-China trade tension which has adverse effects on the trading activities of the country.

Due to the growing demand in the smartphone market, some chipmakers expect the industry downturn to not prolong and be on the path to recovery soon.

Exports also increased by 5.8 per cent in November followed by a 1.1 per cent expansion in December on a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis. Based on the poll, December’s export increase was forecasted at 1.3 per cent.

The export rebound in December last year was also assisted by the shipments of non-monetary gold, which increased by 127.8 per cent from the year before.

Singapore is a big trader in the gold trade industry in the region. This means that exports is susceptible to the high volatile changes in value.

According to the data from Refinitiv,  the global provider of financial markets data and infrastructure, spot gold has in recent weeks climbed up to some of the highest levels ever recorded since 2013.

 

Subscribe
Notify of
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
You May Also Like

Markets mixed as traders weigh US support after SVB collapse

US promises to protect troubled lenders eased concerns about the financial sector following the closure of two banks over the weekend, as equity markets were mixed. Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse and the sale of securities caused its shares to plummet 60%, leading regulators to close the bank. Meanwhile, New York regulators closed Signature Bank. The Federal Reserve, Treasury Department, and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. pledged to protect depositors and lenders struggling to find cash. SVB is the largest retail bank to fail since the 2008 financial crisis.

新加坡外交部贺蔡英文胜选

新加坡外交部在昨日(12日)发文告,祝贺台湾民进党以及蔡英文胜选连任。 外交部在文告中称,对11日台湾选举顺利进行表示欢迎,并祝贺蔡英文及她领导的民进党胜选。 “新加坡和台湾有密切和友好的关系,且可追溯至多年前。我们将秉持我国“一个中国”政策基础,持续维系和发展两地关系。” 文告指海峡两岸关系和平稳定发展仰赖两岸领导者智慧和务实。多年来,两岸都从上述关系中受益。“保障下一代福祉和带来区域和平繁荣的努力,将继续获得来自新加坡和国际社会的欢迎。” 蔡英文得票逾800万 台湾在本月11日进行年台湾总统大选及立委选举,代表民进党、争取连任总统的蔡英文获得逾800万票,超越2016年首度当选的689万4744票,也是首位连任票数超越当选票数的总统。 蔡英文得票817万231张(得票率57.13巴仙),国民党的韩国瑜得票552万2119张(得票率38.61巴仙),以及代表亲民党的宋楚瑜为60万8590张(得票率4.26巴仙)。

脸书称将核查贴文真伪 确保选举诚信

社交媒体脸书(Facebook)强调,它正针对下届大选采取更多措施确保诚信,即让第三方核查机构负责识别带有政治意图的帖文的真伪。 脸书于昨日(11日)在新闻发布会上表示,近日与国际新闻机构汤森路透(Thomson Reuters)接洽,连同法新社(AFP)加入核查帖文内容。 脸书驻新加坡的公共政策主管Clara Koh表示,目前正与两家新闻机构合作,对内容进行评估,一旦发现内容被评定为“虚假或含误导信息”,脸书将会减少其平台的发文。 与此同时,含误导性内容的帖文也会被贴上“假信息”的警告和简短声明,表明该内容已由独立事实核查机构筛检过。尽管其内容不会被删除,但脸书用户却可透过选择查看事实核查机构所贴出说明,并透过设置记录进行设置。 Clara解释,“该行为旨在让更多人了解脸书平台所看到的内容”。她表示,用户能够选择接受何种信息,选择自己所相信与分享的信息。 除了核查内容的真伪,Clara也表示外国干涉亦是脸书另一种特殊现象,而且这种干涉令人震惊,他们试图从国外操纵另一国的公众舆论。 为了减少外国干涉,脸书的选举项目公共政策Aiden Hoy指出,任何想投放社会政治广告的人,首先必须先告知身份与所在的脸书位置,并标上“由…支付”(paid for by)的声明。…

50-year-old man fined $16,000 and issued 12-month disqualification order for causing unnecessary pain and suffering to animals

A 50-year-old man was fined $16,000 or eight weeks imprisonment in default for…