T-info
T-discovery
My
Tendata
Market Analysis
Customer
Development
Competitor
Monitoring
Customer Relationship
Trade Trends News
2025-08-20
July figures showed Singapore's non-oil domestic exports (Nodx) contracting by 4.6%, indicating a pullback after front-loading of orders ahead of U.S. tariff hikes.
DBS Bank economist Irvin Seah noted that shipments to the U.S. slumped by 42.7%, adding that potential tariffs on semiconductors and pharmaceuticals posed a significant threat.
Economists warned that Singapore's export outlook is set to become increasingly challenging due to trade barriers. As Prime Minister Lawrence Wong remarked, “Small, open economies like ours will feel the strain.”
The July decline in key exports reversed June's rebound, with exports to the U.S. plunging by more than 40%.
According to economists, the data reflects the payback effect from earlier orders placed in anticipation of higher U.S. tariffs, which has now started to weigh on Singapore's trade performance.
They added that with U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff-hike moratorium expiring in August—and looming threats of sector-specific tariffs on semiconductors and pharmaceuticals—Singapore's exports face an even tougher and more uncertain road ahead.
Data released by Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG) on August 18 showed that July Nodx fell 4.6% year-on-year, compared with a revised 12.9% gain in June.
The result was far worse than the 1% decline forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists.
Exports to the U.S.—Singapore's largest export market—plunged 42.7%, while shipments to China fell 12.2% and those to Indonesia dropped 32.2%.
DBS senior economist Irvin Seah added that July's weak Nodx figures, when compared with the strong performance in the first half of the year, may signal that Singapore's exports will begin to soften in the second half of 2025.
Category
Leave Message for Demo Request or Questions
