Trade Balance / NODX in Singapore

Captures Singapore's merchandise trade, whose flagship measure is Non-Oil Domestic Exports (NODX), which strip out oil and re-exports to reflect domestically produced goods. Published by Enterprise Singapore, it is a key barometer of one of the world's most open economies.

NODX is compiled from customs export records, excluding petroleum products and re-exports. It is reported in Singapore dollars and as year-on-year and (seasonally adjusted) month-on-month changes; the trade balance is the difference between total exports and imports.

Given its extreme openness and role as a regional entrepôt, NODX is a leading indicator of Asian trade and tech demand, highly sensitive to the electronics cycle and to activity in China and the US. A strong reading supports the Singapore dollar.

NODX is very volatile month to month, particularly because of the pharmaceutical and electronics components, and is revised. By excluding oil and re-exports, it does not reflect the full trade flow passing through Singapore's port.