Despite recently released data from the Ministry of Commerce and Trade revealing an economic downturn, Singapore’s non-oil exports increased in June.
Singapore’s export performance exceeded forecasts in June as the electronics sector boosted the city-state’s non-oil domestic exports.
The head of research and treasury strategy at OCBC Bank, said Singapore’s growth in non-oil exports performed really well in the first half of 2020.
She said that despite the interruption measures due to the pandemic, there was an annual increase of 6% in the exports and pointed out that the outlook for this next period is indeterminate.
“June data on Singapore’s non-oil domestic exports suggest the worst may have happened, but don’t expect double-digit growth momentum to continue in the second half of the year,” she said.
The growth of non-oil exports represents a challenge amid the recent economic crisis facing the city-state.
Economy in Recession
A week ago the Singapore Ministry of Commerce and Trade reported data revealing the condition of the city-state economy.
The published data shows a contraction in the economy during the Q2 of the year.
According to preliminary data from the Ministry of Commerce and Trade, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) fell 41.2%, instead of the 37.4% forecast by economists.
The Ministry of Commerce attributed this fall of the economy due to low foreign demand in the context of the global crisis because of the pandemic.
To sum up, Singapore’s numbers give an idea of how the ongoing pandemic could affect economies around the world, as one of the first countries to publish economic growth data for the period when the outbreak has spread globally.