According to data released by Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG) on Monday, February 17th, Singapore's non-oil domestic exports (NODX) unexpectedly fell by 2.1% year-on-year in January, with electronics exports increasing but non-electronics exports decreasing.

This decline follows two consecutive months of growth.

The latest figures contrast with the revised 9% economic expansion forecast from the previous month and fall short of the median growth forecast of 0.3% from a Bloomberg survey of private-sector economists.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, total non-oil exports in January dropped by 3.3% to S$14.9 billion, reversing the 1.3% increase seen in December.

The January data comes just days after EnterpriseSG announced that NODX for the full year of 2024 grew by 0.2% year-on-year. For 2025, the agency maintains its forecast range of 1% to 3% growth.

Electronics exports in January rose by 9.6% year-on-year, a slower pace compared to the 18.6% increase in the previous month. Integrated circuits (14.6%), personal computers (66.7%), and disk media products (31.5%) were the top contributors to this growth.

However, non-electronics shipments fell by 4.8% year-on-year, reversing the 6.6% growth recorded in December. The decline in non-electronics NODX was primarily driven by pharmaceuticals (-53%), specialized machinery (-9.9%), and miscellaneous manufactured articles (-20%).

Among Singapore's top markets, NODX to half of them grew in January 2025. Exports to Hong Kong, the United States, Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea increased, while exports to China, Indonesia, the European Union, Thailand, and Malaysia declined.

Overall, total trade in January grew by 6.7% compared to the same period last year, down from the 19% increase in the previous month. Total exports rose by 3%, while total imports increased by 11.2%.