SINGAPORE - Exports from Singapore slipped 1 per cent in the first quarter of this year compared with the same period last year, according to data released by trade agency IE Singapore on Tuesday.

But the slide in non-oil domestic exports was smaller than the 2.1 per cent decline in the previous quarter, it said.

Shipments were dragged down by a contraction in electronic exports, which shrank 12.8 per cent in the first quarter over a year ago, on top of a 6.9 per cent in the previous quarter.

Non-electronic exports rose 4.5 per cent in the quarter, after growing 0.3 per cent in the fourth quarter of last year.

The markets where exports slowed the most in the first quarter were Hong Kong, South Korea and the European Union.

The agency is keeping its forecast that exports will grow 1 to 3 per cent for the full year.

It also said that Singapore's total trade expanded 7.2 per cent in the first three months of the year over the previous year, accelerating from a 3.8 per cent increase in the fourth quarter of last year.