Singapore’s electronics exports slumped in March by the most since 2013, an ominous sign that it will take longer for the city state to shake off a regional demand slowdown from earlier this year.
Electronics shipments dropped 26.7 percent from a year ago, weighing down overall non-oil domestic exports, which fell 11.7 percent. That was far worse than the 2.2 percent contraction forecast by economists in a Bloomberg survey.
Weaker Chinese demand has also resulted in exports to the U.S. outpacing those to China for the first time in more than seven years.
Economists are counting on a recovery in Chinese demand, helped by government stimulus measures, which should filter through to the region’s economies. China’s economy grew a better-than-expected 6.4 percent in the first quarter from a year ago, matching the previous three months’ pace, government data showed Wednesday. The Bloomberg survey median had called for a 6.3 percent gain.