Singapore’s June exports jump at faster pace than forecast

Singapore’s exports rebounded in June at a faster rate than expected, mainly due to a surge in electronics and gold from a low base a year ago.

Non-oil domestic exports jumped 16.1% from the same time in 2019, exceeding the highest forecast in the Bloomberg survey. The exports rose 0.5% from May against a median estimate for a 4.6% contraction, Enterprise Singapore said in a statement Friday.

Key Insights

• Electronics exports climbed 22.2% from June 2019, when shipments were hit by a downturn in the global tech cycle. Non-monetary gold surged 238% from a low base last year and because of growing demand for the precious metal as a safe haven asset during the pandemic
• Pharmaceuticals exports, which are typically volatile, jumped 30.8% from a year ago, also due to base effects
• The pickup in exports may help to soften the blow to the trade-reliant economy in the second quarter. Advanced estimates of gross domestic product released by the government earlier this week showed a record 41.2% annualized contraction in the three months through June from the previous quarter