Singapore Dec petchem exports fall 3.5% on year; NODX down 8.5%

SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Singapore’s petrochemical shipments in December 2018 fell by 3.5% year on year to Singapore dollar (S$) 1.39bn, while the overall non-oil domestic exports for the month shrank at a steeper rate of 8.5%, official data showed on Thursday.

Singapore port (Photo by Wallace Woon/EPA/REX/Shutterstock)

Exports of petrochemicals are on their fourth month of contraction, while the overall December NODX stood at S$13.8bn, logging a second consecutive month of decline after November’s 2.8% year-on-year fall, according to Enterprise Singapore.

By volume, shipments of petrochemical feedstock naphtha in December slumped 86.9% year on year, with aromatics such as benzene, toluene, orthoxylene and paraxylene also registering double-digit declines.

Singapore export volumes of selected petrochemicals (in tonnes)

Product	Dec-18	Dec-17	% Change Year on Year	% Change Month on Month	Nov-18
Benzene	11,864	15,227	-22.1	36.6	8,684
Toluene	33,071	43,070	-23.2	-10.4	36,890
Orthoxylene	5,929	17,985	-67.0	-13.7	6,872
Paraxylene	115,183	141,785	-18.8	84.7	62,367
Methanol	696	1,236	-43.7	-67.5	2,141
Ethylene glycol	33,827	95,585	-64.6	-64.4	95,007
Phenol	9,634	10,119	-4.8	-24.4	12,745
Acetone	14,313	12,302	16.3	6.3	13,464
Ethyl acetate	5,411	9,435	-42.6	-44.1	9,681
Polycarbonates	21,558	12,542	71.9	86.0	11,588
Naphtha	20,305	155,321	-86.9	25.1	16,229

Source: Enterprise Singapore

On a month-on-month seasonally adjusted basis, the city state’s December NODX fell 5.7% to $14.0bn, following the previous month’s 4.3% decline.

Singapore’s NODX to eight of its 10 top markets declined in December 2018, led by EU28, South Korea and Malaysia. Shipments to the US and China, on the other hand, posted year-on-year increases.

(adds paragraph 3; table on selected petrochemical exports)