Exports post slower growth in July due to low demand in China

It rose to 7.0% in July from 8.5% in June. 

With the low demand in China, non-oil domestic exports (NODX) registered a slower growth from 7% in July compared to 8.5% in June.

A report from Maybank showed that NODX to China went down on both electronics with 15.4% decline and 22.3% down for non-electronics. 

Exports to Japan also went down for the first time in 13 months from 15.3% down in July to 18.6% in June. Whilst exports in Hong Kong extended declines for the seventh straight month with 3.8% down in July.

Contrary to this, exports to the European Union bounced back to 22.9% in July compared to 16.4% down in June. The increase was attributed to pharmacy with 87.3%, specialised machinery with 21.5%, and ICs  with 52.5%.

With these factors, Maybank maintained its 2022 NODX forecast at 5% to 6% as it expects the growth to still decelerate in the coming months amidst the weakened global growth outlook.

“We maintain our 2022 NODX growth forecast at 5%-6% (7M22: +9.7%), and 2023 forecast at between -2% and +1%,” it said.