Singapore April petrochemical exports grow 15.1%; NODX up 11.8%

Nurluqman Suratman

17-May-2018

SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Singapore’s petrochemical shipments abroad in April rose by 15.1% year on year to Singapore dollar (S$) 1.45bn ($1.1bn), boosting the overall non-oil domestic exports (NODX), official data showed on Thursday.

The year-on-year growth in petrochemical exports in April was a reversal of the contractions of 1.4% and 12.9% in March and February, respectively, according to Enterprise Singapore.

Petrochemical exports to China surged by 79.3% year on year in April, while specialty chemical shipments to the US rose by 42.6%.

Singapore’s exports of benzene in April more than doubled to 21,515 tonnes, while shipments of toluene slumped by 92.7% to 2,997 tonnes. (please see interactive below)

Overseas shipments of paraxylene (PX) rose by 39.3% to 162,440 tonnes in April, while exports of methanol were up by 18.8% at 1,362 tonnes.

Exports of petrochemical feedstock naphtha fell by 59% year on year to 42,724 tonnes in April.

Singapore’s non-electronic NODX, which includes petrochemicals and pharmaceuticals, last month rose by 19.6% year on year to S$11.6bn, a sharp reversal of the 1.7% contraction in March.

Overall NODX rose by 11.8% year on year to S$15.3bn in April following the 3.2% fall in March.

“The very strong on-year growth rates in exports for most of 2017 may not be sustained as we move towards the 2nd half of 2018,” Singapore-based UOB Global Economics & Markets Research said in a note.

(adds details throughout)

($1 = S$1.34)

Picture: Ships load and unload containers at Singapore’s Tanjong Pagar Container Port Terminal (Source: Xinhua/REX/Shutterstock)

Product (in tonnes) Apr-18 Apr-17 % Change Year on Year % Change Month on Month
Benzene 21,515.16 9,436.37 128.0 -48.2
Toluene 2,997.10 41,138.71 -92.7 5.7
Orthoxylene 19,308.53 21,591.85 -10.6 18.5
Paraxylene 162,440.33 116,639.37 39.3 -14.4
Methanol 1,361.72 1,146.62 18.8 -16.9
Ethylene Glycol 90,187.00 37,917.76 137.8 -56.2
Phenol 1,374.84 13,119.23 -89.5 86.3
Acetone 3,235.79 15,463.26 -79.1 53.8
Ethyl Acetate 6,281.20 5,530.91 13.6 -34.6
Vinyl Acetate 38,397.23 36,334.55 5.7 -27.3
Polycarbonates 9,874.59 14,185.24 -30.4 47.8
Naphtha 42,723.61 104,293.35 -59.0 -6.0

Interactive by Nurluqman Suratman

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