Singapore sees surge in non-oil exports driven by AI demand
SINGAPORE: Singapore's non-oil domestic exports rose by 24.2% in July, the government said on Monday, following a 20.8% 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% in July, higher than the 105.1% in June, government trade agency Enterprise Singapore said.
Disk media products performed best, with a 339.1% increase, followed by integrated circuits and personal computers at 120.8% and 84.5%, it said in a statement.
Singapore's non-electronic exports, however, fell by 2.3%, owing to a decline in pharmaceutical exports, which dipped by 56.7%.
Petrochemicals and food preparations exports fell by 22.5% and 17.9%, 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".
By RSS/AFP
