By Masayuki Kitano
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore's exports unexpectedly jumped in May, helped by growth in non-electronic shipments such as gold and pharmaceuticals, although analysts remain pessimistic about the trade outlook amid persistently sluggish global demand.
Non-oil domestic exports grew 11.6 percent in May from a year earlier, the trade agency International Enterprise Singapore (IE Singapore) said on Friday in a statement. That beat the median forecast of a 2.3 percent contraction in a Reuters poll.
On a month-on-month, seasonally adjusted basis, non-oil domestic exports in May expanded 16.8 percent, well above the median forecast of 2.6 percent growth.
A rise in pharmaceuticals exports helped give a lift to May exports, but sustainable drivers of external demand are still lacking, said Selena Ling, head of treasury research and strategy for OCBC Bank.
"It's a nice surprise, given all the gloom and doom out there. Full year, IE Singapore is looking for a contraction and so are we. So it's probably a blip, but it's still nice for now," Ling said.
"One month is not going to change the story for the whole quarter, we suspect."
Non-electronic NODX rose 19.0 percent in May from a year earlier. This was led by exports of pre-fabricated buildings, non-monetary gold and pharmaceuticals, IE Singapore said. Exports of non-monetary gold rose 436.7 percent from a year earlier, it added.
Last month, Singapore slashed its exports forecasts for this year. IE Singapore saw non-oil domestic exports contracting 3.0-5.0 percent, compared with previous expectations of a 0.0-2.0 percent expansion.
Exports to China, Singapore's top overseas market, fell 10.1 percent in May from a year earlier, after declining 7.4 percent in April.
That came even as China's imports in May reported the smallest decline since they turned negative in November 2014, spurring some hopes of a pick-up in domestic demand in the world's second-largest economy.
Shipments to the United States grew 9.1 percent last month on-year, compared with a 7.0 percent slide in April.
Sales to Europe contracted 14.0 percent in May after gaining 20.6 percent in April.
(Additional reporting by Aradhana Aravindan; Editing by Sam Holmes)
