Singapore exports jump most in 3 years on strong U.S., Europe demand

By Jongwoo Cheon

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore's annual exports in March grew the most in three years, handily beating expectations on surging sales to the United States and Europe, backing this week's decision by the central bank to hold off from further easing.

Non-oil domestic exports (NODX) jumped 18.5 percent in March from a year earlier, trade agency International Enterprise Singapore said on Friday in a statement. It marked the highest annual exports growth since February 2012.

The result compared with a 0.7 percent contraction forecast in a Reuters poll, and a 9.7 percent drop in February, and suggested global demand may be on the mend.

Non-oil exports to the European Union soared 56.2 percent on-year thanks to rises in pharmaceuticals and personal computers. Sales to the United States gained 19.0 percent, from a 7.5 percent growth in February.

Annual shipments to China rose 1.1 percent in March, compared to a 22.7 contraction in February.

"We haven't seen this kind of eye-popping numbers for a while," said Selena Ling, an economist at Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp.

"We have to see whether it's sustainable. The global picture hasn't changed that much. Maybe this is a little bit off payback from the Chinese New Year."

Data last week showed China's overall imports fell 12.7 percent from a year earlier, indicating tepid domestic demand in Asia's economic powerhouse - Singapore's top export market.

China's economy continued to lose momentum, with growth at its slowest pace in six years in the first quarter.

ELECTRONICS, PHARMA UP

The data backs the Monetary Authority of Singapore's (MAS) decision to hold policy steady this week. Among other things, the MAS expressed confidence in advanced economies in moving to an on-hold stance after January's surprise easing.

Exports of electronics in March rose 10.4 percent from a year earlier, after decreasing 12.5 percent in February.

The sector is a key driver of Singapore exports, but it has been underperforming regional competitors such as South Korea and Taiwan due to stiff competition and a lack of popular high-tech products including smartphones.

Shipments of PCs more than doubled in March from a year earlier, while annual sales of pharmaceuticals' exports jumped 65.9 percent last month after a 22.4 percent drop in February.

(Additional reporting by Aradhana Aravindan; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)