Singapore's non-oil exports jump 68.4% in September, more than double expectations

Singapore's non-oil domestic exports surged 68.4% year on year in September, more than double what private-sector economists had expected, as lumpy shipments of ship structures and continued AI-related electronics demand extended a strong run of trade prints.

The print

Enterprise Singapore said Singapore's non-oil domestic exports rose 68.4% year on year in September, extending a revised 46.1% increase in August. The Business Times said that beat a Bloomberg poll of private-sector economists that had expected a 32.2% rise — more than double the consensus.

Non-electronic NODX drove the headline, up 54.2% after an 11.9% gain in August, mainly on lumpy shipments of ship and boat structures. EnterpriseSG did not publish a year-on-year percentage for that category, saying the rate would be "exceptionally high" because of a low base a year earlier. Absolute contribution from ships and boats was about S$3.7 billion, with non-monetary gold (+S$1.1 billion, +124.3%) and specialised machinery (+S$1.0 billion, +50.4%) also lifting the non-electronics total.

Channel NewsAsia and Xinhua matched the 68.4% headline and the electronics/non-electronics split in their Friday coverage of the same EnterpriseSG release.

Electronics still strong on AI demand

Electronic NODX rose 107.6% in September after a 131.6% surge in August, EnterpriseSG said, supported by robust artificial-intelligence-related demand. Disk media products jumped 312.4% (+S$1.7 billion), integrated circuits 74.7% (+S$1.5 billion) and personal computers 149.5% (+S$900 million).

That electronics run is cooler than August's peak but still triple-digit — a continuation of the AI hardware demand, without changing the fact that September's print is a Singapore trade statistic, not an issuer earnings story.

NODX grew 27.6% in the first nine months of 2026, the agency said.

Where the shipments went

Exports to nine of Singapore's top 10 markets rose. Hong Kong led with a 112.1% gain, helped by non-monetary gold, ICs and specialised machinery. Taiwan rose 96.9%, South Korea 96% and the United States 73.2%. China slowed to 36.8% from 70.2% in August. India was the exception among the top 10, falling 5.6% after a 23.6% rise in August.

Non-oil re-exports rose 47.8% year on year, moderating from 53.2% in August, led by electronic NORX (+64.2%). Total merchandise trade expanded 50.8%, with exports up 51.5% and imports up 49.9%.

How to read the surge

The headline pace is unusually large and partly reflects lumpy ship-and-boat structures on a low year-earlier base — a caveat EnterpriseSG itself flagged in a footnote. Electronics growth, while still triple-digit, cooled from August's 131.6%. Markets will watch whether AI-related disk media, IC and PC demand holds after September and whether the ships spike proves one-off when October trade arrives.