Pharma shipments lift Singapore exports for third straight month
FILE PHOTO: The skyline of Singapore's central business district is seen at dusk as operations continue at a PSA International port terminal in Singapore September 25, 2013. REUTERS/Edgar Su Purchase Licensing Rights
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore's annual exports rose for the third straight month in April, bolstered by a sharp rise in pharmaceutical shipments, official data showed on Monday.
Non-oil domestic exports (NODX) rose 9.7% on a year-on-year basis, easing from a 17.6% jump the month before, data from trade agency Enterprise Singapore showed. The median of seven economists' estimates in a Reuters survey had forecast a 5% decline.
On a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, exports fell 5.8% in April after expanding 12.8% in March.
Pharmaceutical exports, which can be volatile, rose 174.3%, growing from a low base a year ago.
Reporting by Aradhana Aravindan and John Geddie in Singapore; Editing by Kim Coghill
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