SINGAPORE'S total trade fell by a seasonally adjusted 14 per cent in the first quarter, less than the 18 per cent contraction the previous quarter, according to data released by trade promotion agency IE Singapore on Thursday morning.

But on a year-on-year basis, total trade shrank by 28 per cent in the first three months, compared to the previous quarter's decline of 9.6 per cent.

Non-oil domestic exports dipped by 7.4 per cent in 1Q, following a decline of 11 per cent in the last quarter of 2008, while on a year-on-year basis, NODX declined by 26 per cent, against the previous quarter's drop of 18 per cent.

IE Singapore said total external trade declined by 14 per cent in the first quarter, at a slower pace than the 18 per cent contraction in the fourth quarter of 2008.

Compared to a year ago, total external trade contracted by 28 per cent.

The level of total trade reached $165 billion in the first three months of the year.

The year-on-year decline in 1Q can be attributed to lower oil and non-oil trade, said IE Singapore. Oil trade contracted by 39 per, compared to the same quarter a year go.