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SINGAPORE - NON-oil exports unexpectedly fell in November, dropping by 6.0 per cent after seasonal adjustments from October, the biggest fall in seven months, data showed on Monday.
November's fall compared with market expectations for a 1.8 per cent rise, and followed a revised 0.5 per cent decline in October, on persistent weakness in tech exports.
Non-oil exports in November fell 3.4 per cent from a year earlier to $14.6 billion, trade agency International Enterprise Singapore said in a statement.
That compared with a revised 6.5 per cent rise in October, from an initial 6.8 per cent gain, and with a median forecast in a Reuters poll for an annual increase of 4.5 per cent.
The Singapore economy is heavily dependent on trade, and non-oil domestic exports were equal to 80 per cent of the city-state's gross domestic product last year.
Economists had expected November exports to be boosted by higher petrochemical and chemical shipments, and a slight pick-up in electronic sales.
Electronics account for about 42 per cent of the city-state's non-oil exports.
November's electronics shipments fell 8.2 per cent from a year ago while drugs exports dropped 21.5 per cent in the same period. Petrochemicals gained 2.8 per cent.
Singapore's non-oil domestic exports, which comprise of goods that have been manufactured in Singapore or undergone further processing, include mobile phones, medical instruments, and active ingredients for some blockbuster drugs. -- REUTERS
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