SINGAPORE - Singapore’s non-oil domestic exports rose 46.2% year on year in August as electronics shipments surged on strong AI-related demand.
Enterprise Singapore said in its August trade release that the increase followed a revised 24.1% rise in July. NODX grew 22.4% in the first eight months of 2026, while the August result exceeded the 35.3% median forecast in a Reuters poll.
Electronic NODX jumped 131.8% from a year earlier, accelerating from 112.0% growth in July. Integrated circuit exports rose 90.9%, disk media products increased 290.2% and personal computers climbed 237.9%, with EnterpriseSG identifying the three categories as the main electronics drivers.
Non-electronic NODX also increased 12.0% after declining 2.4% in July. Specialised machinery, non-monetary gold and medical apparatus were the largest contributors to the increase, although EnterpriseSG said all three benefited from low bases a year earlier.
The overall August gain was also partly amplified by a weak comparison period. EnterpriseSG said NODX stood at S$13.3 billion in August 2025, the lowest monthly level recorded that year.
Shipments increased to nine of Singapore’s top 10 markets. NODX to the United States rose 91.0%, while exports to South Korea and China increased 87.1% and 70.3%, respectively. The European Union was the only top-10 market to contract, falling 1.7%. Non-oil re-exports rose 53.3%, while total merchandise trade expanded 44.5% to S$156.9 billion.
EnterpriseSG had raised its 2026 NODX growth forecast to 14%-16% from 3%-5% in its Aug. 11 trade outlook after an exceptionally strong first half led by electronics. The agency said second-half growth was expected to remain supported but moderate as comparison bases become harder.
OCBC chief economist Selena Ling cautioned that August’s growth rate should not be extrapolated indefinitely because of the low base. “Key to watch would be memory prices, advanced packaging demand and AI server orders,” she told CNA.