Singapore's key non-oil exports unexpectedly rose in September due to a smart rise in electronics shipments.
Exports of goods made in Singapore rose 0.3% in September compared with a year earlier, after falling 8.4% in August, trade promotion agency International Enterprise Singapore said Friday.
The median estimate of six economists in a poll by The Wall Street Journal predicted September exports would contract 3.9% from a year earlier.
Compared with the previous month, exports rose 2.8% in seasonally adjusted terms, after contracting 4.6% on month in August. Economists in the poll had projected a median 0.6% increase in September.
The city-state's shipments to its three biggest destinations were lower. Exports to China, Singapore's biggest export destination, fell 12.9% in September from a year earlier, compared with a 8.2% on-year fall in the previous month, IE Singapore said.
Exports to the European Union fell 2.1% on year after falling 9.0% in August. Exports to the U.S., fell 9.3%, reversing a 8.8% rise in the August.
Electronics exports rose 5.7% on year in September, after falling 2.7% in August, while non-electronics shipments fell 1.9%, compared with a 10.7% fall in the previous month.
In the non-electronics sector, pharmaceutical exports rose 6.6%, after falling 9.3% in the previous month.