SINGAPORE, Aug 18 — Singapore’s non-oil domestic exports rose by 24.2 per cent in July, the government said on Monday, following a 20.8 per cent increase in June driven by robust AI-related demand.
July’s data came after the government sharply raised its growth forecast for 2026 earlier this month due to a strong thirst for products linked to artificial intelligence.
The growth was supported by a surge in electronic shipments, which grew by 112 per cent in July, higher than the 105.1 per cent in June, government trade agency Enterprise Singapore said.
Disk media products performed best, with a 339.1 per cent increase, followed by integrated circuits and personal computers at 120.8 per cent and 84.5 per cent, it said in a statement.
Singapore’s non-electronic exports, however, fell by 2.3 per cent, owing to a decline in pharmaceutical exports, which dipped by 56.7 per cent.
Petrochemicals and food preparations exports fell by 22.5 per cent and 17.9 per cent, respectively.
Singapore’s government has said it expects global demand related to AI will help cushion the city-state’s economy from the impact of war in the Middle East.
While AI investment has been “stronger than expected”, it says the Iran war’s impact on the wider global economy has been “less severe than initially feared”. — AFP
