Non-oil domestic exports rose 1.6 percent from a year earlier, after a decline of 6.6 percent in February, the government's trade promotion body said in a report today. That was worse than the median forecast of a 2 percent gain in a Bloomberg News survey of 13 economists.

Slowing growth in the US and Europe is hurting sales for Asian electronics manufacturers including Singapore-based Creative Technology Ltd., whose music players compete with Apple Inc.'s iPod. The International Monetary Fund, World Bank and Asian Development Bank all expect the region's economies to expand as a slower pace this year as growth in global trade volumes weakens.

``Many electronic-related companies have reported poorer first-quarter sales,'' said Leslie Tang, an economist at UOB Kay Hian Pte in Singapore. ``We are not expecting a recovery in export demand until the second half.''

Singapore's exports rose a seasonally adjusted 15 percent in March from the previous month after falling 11.1 percent in February, today's report said. Economists were predicting a gain of 9.2 percent.

Electronics exports declined 17.7 percent in March from a year earlier following a 17 percent drop in February, according to today's report. It is the fifth time exports of electronics have declined in the past six months.

Computer Chips

Sales of electronics products rose to S$5.91 billion last month, from S$5.19 billion in February.

Semiconductor shipments fell 16 percent from a year earlier after declining a revised 22.5 percent in February.

Chipmakers have reported declining sales. Advanced Micro Devices Inc, the world's second-largest maker of personal- computer processors, on April 9 said first-quarter revenue dropped 8 percent as prices and unit sales fell. Intel Corp, the biggest chipmaker, may say today first-quarter revenue was at the low end of its forecast because of excess inventory, according to JPMorgan.

The city-state's electronics shipments have been curbed by lower production of computer disk drives as manufacturers moved to lower cost sites.

Disk-drive exports slid 34.2 percent from a year earlier. Exports of telecommunications equipment fell 33.4 percent.

Disk Drives

Seagate Technology, the world's largest maker of computer disk drives, on April 9 said lower-than-expected demand for its products hurt third-quarter revenue. Singapore's output of data storage devices has also dropped after Seagate bought rival Maxtor Corp. and cut operations.

Pharmaceutical shipments rose 72.3 percent last month, compared with a gain of 0.8 percent in February. Drug shipments increased to S$2.46 billion in March, compared with S$1.55 billion in February.

Singapore's drug exports tend to fluctuate from month to month because of swings in production as companies shut plants for cleaning before making different chemicals, and some pharmaceuticals require several ingredients to be made and mixed before they are ready for export.

Exports to the European Union, Singapore's biggest overseas market, rose 24.6 percent in March after a 15.1 percent decline the month before, today's report showed.

Shipments to the US, its second-biggest market, added 3.1 percent after rising 1.7 percent in February. Exports to China fell 2 percent after February's 16.4 percent drop.

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