Singapore's non-oil domestic exports (NODX) fell more than expected in April from a year ago, hurt by fewer shipments to most major trading partners and a plunge in pharmaceutical sales, official data showed on Friday.
Exports fell 10% in April year-on-year, data from the trade agency Enterprise Singapore showed, slightly better than a revised 11.8% decline the month before.
However, the shipments were worse than the 6.0% decline predicted by economists in a Reuters poll.
On a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, exports contracted 0.6% in April after declining 14.3% in March. The poll had forecast 5.0% growth from the month before.
Pharmaceutical exports, which can be volatile, plunged 46.6% in April from the year earlier after contracting 36.5% in March.
Electronics shipments also continued to decline in April, down 16.3% from a year ago after slumping 26.7% in March.
