Singapore trade figures for October point to rising demand

SINGAPORE - As a key harbinger of global demand, there are some encouraging signals in the latest Singapore trade figures, with the electronics sector on the cusp of expansion, production broadening and re-exports at a record high, ANZ Bank says. “We are cautious of one-off effects, but the overall thrust of the data speaks of steadily improving and more even external demand.”

ANZ says that, encouragingly, non-oil re-exports (NORX) in October rose sharply (to a record high), suggesting momentum of global demand into Q4 is on an upward trend. On a product basis electronic exports fell only 1.4% y/y, while non-electronic shipments were up 4.9%. Within non-electronics, pharmaceutical shipments fell 27.3%, while petrochemicals continued to offset this decline, up 27.4%.
On a country basis, exports to the US and China remained strong, but shipments to Europe were flat, leaving the trend growth negative. Exports to the NIEs, ASEAN, and Japan picked up further, all in positive growth territory. www.live.anz.com (ATI).