SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Singapore’s August non-oil domestic exports (NODX) rose 7.7% from a year earlier, beating forecasts, official data showed on Thursday, helped by items such as non-monetary gold and specialised machinery.
That compared with a revised 5.9% increase in July. Economists had forecast a 3.7% increase for August, according to the median of eight estimates.
On a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, exports expanded 10.5% in August after a 1.2% rise in the previous month, Enterprise Singapore said in a statement. Economists had forecast a 0.9% rise.
Shipments of non-monetary gold rose 55.1% in August from a year earlier. The city-state is a big regional player in the gold trade, and exports can be affected by sharp swings in value. Electronics exports increased 5.7%.
(Reporting by Aradhana Aravindan in Singapore; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)
