Bangkok, Jan. 18, (dpa/GNA) – Singapore’s exports grew by 6.8 per cent year-on-year in December, the first expansion in two months and the latest signal that its economy is recovering after losses inflicted by the coronavirus pandemic and related curbs.
In a statement, government agency Enterprise Singapore said that the rise was “mainly due to specialised machinery, non-monetary gold and measuring instruments.”
Exports of electronics, usually a key component of city-state’s overseas trade, grew by 13.7 per cent, while pharmaceuticals exports to the United States expanded by almost 80 per cent, according to Enterprise Singapore data.
The December rebound comes after the trade-dependent city-state’s October and November exports fell by 3.1 per cent and 5 per cent respectively.
Singapore’s trade-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio in 2019 was almost 320 per cent, far above the East Asian average of slightly over 50 per cent, according to World Bank estimates.
Singapore’s return to export growth comes as November saw the first fall in unemployment since the start of the pandemic, according to numbers released earlier this month by the Manpower Ministry.
Singapore’s economy shrank by a less-than-expected 5.8 per cent in 2020, according to government estimates published at the start of the year.
GNA