Singapore reported a rise in exports by almost a quarter in May, led by a sharp jump in shipments of electronic goods. However, the pace of growth was slower than in the previous month.
The island's non-oil domestic exports surged 24% in May from a year earlier, International Enterprise Singapore said on Thursday. Economists had expected a 25% increase. It follows a 30% jump in the previous month.
Electronic exports boomed 39% year-on-year in May, led by the increased demand from the rest of Asia. It followed a 21% rise in the previous month. At the same time, non-electronic product exports were up 16%, following the 35% increase in the prior month.
On a month-over-month basis, non-oil domestic exports decreased 0.1% in May. It followed a 2.5% increase in the previous month.
Asia was the chief market for Singapore's exports in May. Non-oil domestic exports to China rocketed 64% annually, while that to Hong Kong and Japan increased 51% and 66%, respectively.
Meanwhile, oil domestic exports expanded by 56% in May, after the preceding month's 64% increase. The growth was mainly driven by higher shipments to Panama, Malaysia and China.
Singapore specializes in pharmaceuticals and electronics manufacturing and its economy relies heavily on exports. Recent manufacturing figures bear evidence to the island's sound economic health, which has benefitted from its close trade ties with the rest of Asia. Industrial output soared 51% year-on-year in April, faster than the 46.6% increase in the previous month.
Earlier this week, official data showed that the Singaporean economy added 36,500 in the March quarter, bettering the earlier estimate. The seasonally adjusted overall unemployment rate declined to 2.2% from 2.3% in the December quarter. A total of 66,200 Singaporeans were registered unemployed at the end of March.
The city-state economy expanded 38.6% in the first quarter. The government has upgraded its growth projection for the economy this year to 7-9% from 4.5-6.5%.
The strong rebound forced the Monetary Authority of Singapore, which only meets twice a year to review its policy, to re-center its exchange rate band and to shift policy from that of a zero percent appreciation to one of "modest and gradual" appreciation.
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April 24, 2026 15:15 ET Economics news flow was relatively light this week even as the conflict in the Middle East continued, raising concerns for policymakers. In the U.S., spending data, initial jobless claims and pending home sales were the highlights. Business confidence in the biggest euro area economy was in focus in Europe. Inflation data from Japan gained attention in Asia.