Singapore Sept container traffic falls 5.8 pct from Aug
Singapore port terminals handled 5.8 percent fewer containers in September than in August, a downturn after two months of rises, and traffic was 16 percent lower than a year earlier, government data showed.
The numbers from the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore show trade at the world's busiest container port is struggling to improve, underlining concerns by policymakers around the world that growth-supporting policies may still be needed.
Most containers passing through Singapore's port are transshipments between East and West, and so are a barometer of world trade. The port's trade slid from last October to February, and has since stabilised but at lower levels than last year.
The figures come ahead of Friday's data for Singapore's key non-oil exports in September, which are expected by economists to have risen 1 percent seasonally adjusted from August and to have fallen 7.3 percent from a year earlier.
Singapore relies on exports for about 60 percent of its economy. The world trade downturn battered shipping firms such as Singapore's Neptune Orient Lines (NEPS.SI) and pushed Singapore into its deepest ever economic contraction in the first quarter. PSA International [PSA.UL], which runs ports around the world and is owned by state wealth fund Temasek [TEM.UL], separately said container volumes at its Singapore port fell 17 percent in the first nine months of 2009, versus the same period a year ago.
The numbers from the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore show trade at the world's busiest container port is struggling to improve, underlining concerns by policymakers around the world that growth-supporting policies may still be needed.
Most containers passing through Singapore's port are transshipments between East and West, and so are a barometer of world trade. The port's trade slid from last October to February, and has since stabilised but at lower levels than last year.
The figures come ahead of Friday's data for Singapore's key non-oil exports in September, which are expected by economists to have risen 1 percent seasonally adjusted from August and to have fallen 7.3 percent from a year earlier.
Singapore relies on exports for about 60 percent of its economy. The world trade downturn battered shipping firms such as Singapore's Neptune Orient Lines (NEPS.SI) and pushed Singapore into its deepest ever economic contraction in the first quarter. PSA International [PSA.UL], which runs ports around the world and is owned by state wealth fund Temasek [TEM.UL], separately said container volumes at its Singapore port fell 17 percent in the first nine months of 2009, versus the same period a year ago.