Singapore Jan exports rise 6.2 pct, twice expected pace

SINGAPORE, Feb 16 (Reuters) Singapore's non-oil exports rose a higher-than-expected 6.2 percent in January after seasonal adjustments compared with the previous month, posting the biggest rise in more than a year, data showed on Friday.

January's rise was double the market's expectations for a 3.1 percent increase, and was the biggest gain since December 2005 when the index climbed 12.6 percent. January's rise reversed December's revised 2.8 percent slide.

Non-oil exports in January rose 11.1 percent from a year earlier to S.99 billion, trade agency International Enterprise Singapore said in a statement. That compared with a median forecast in a Reuters poll for an annual increase of 4.7 percent.

Economists had expected a pick-up in demand from the United States, Singapore's single biggest export market, to lift growth in overseas sales.

Electronics account for half of the city-state's non-oil exports, while pharmaceuticals make up about 10 percent of overseas sales.

December's electronics shipments rose 2.1 percent from a year ago while drugs exports rose 12.6 percent, and petrochemicals climbed 26.4 percent.

REUTERS PV RN1244