SINGAPORE (April 18):  Singapore's key non-oil exports will likely remain weak in the first half of this year and would likely improve in the second half should the uncertainties surrounding China's growth and oil prices recede, according to UOB.

Non-oil domestic exports (NODX) slipped 15.6% y-o-y in March, as shipments of both electronics and non-electronics products declined.  Except for Japan and Hong Kong, shipments to Singapore's all 10 major markets fell. The European Union, China and Indonesia were the biggest contributors to March's NODX contraction. Shipments to China, Singapore’s biggest export market, fell 14% in March from a year earlier, compared with a 1.2% decline the previous month. 

"Although the non-oil domestic exports contraction in March was the worst print in more than three years, we do not think that an alarm should be raised," it adds. "Part of the reason for the sharp on-year contraction was due to a very strong gain in March 2015," says UOB.