Singapore sees surge in non-oil exports driven by AI demand

Singapore experienced a notable surge in non-oil exports in July, with the country's domestic exports increasing by 24.2% compared to the previous month, according to the government. This growth was particularly driven by robust demand for artificial intelligence-related products, which led to an early revision of the government's growth forecast for 2026.

The government trade agency Enterprise Singapore attributed the rise in exports to a significant increase in electronic shipments, which grew by 112% in July, outpacing the 105.1% growth seen in June. Disk media products saw the most substantial increase, with shipments rising by 339.1%, followed by integrated circuits at 120.8% and personal computers at 84.5%.

However, non-electronic exports declined by 2.3% in July. Pharmaceutical exports experienced a sharp drop of 56.7%, while petrochemicals and food preparations exports decreased by 22.5% and 17.9%, respectively. Despite these declines in certain sectors, Singapore's government remains optimistic about the potential benefits of global AI demand in cushioning the country's economy from the effects of the ongoing war in the Middle East.

The government acknowledged that while AI investment has surpassed expectations, the impact of the Iran war on the global economy has been less severe than initially anticipated.