Singapore March exports rise 16.5 percent from year ago, exceeds forecasts

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore's March non-oil domestic exports (NODX) grew more than expected from a year earlier, fueled by a surge in pharmaceutical and petrochemical shipments.

Exports in March rose 16.5 percent from a year earlier, data from trade agency International Enterprise Singapore (IE Singapore) showed on Monday.

Non-oil domestic exports however, fell a seasonally adjusted 1.1 percent in March from February.

A Reuters poll had forecast March exports would expand 10.4 percent from a year earlier and shrink 6.4 percent from February.

(Reporting by Fathin Ungku; Editing by Sam Holmes)