SINGAPORE - After shrinking for two straight months, Singapore's non-oil domestic exports returned to growth in April as rising non-electronic exports outweighed a slide in electronics shipments.

Non-oil domestic exports (Nodx) surged 11.8 per cent in April, blowing past economist estimates of a 7.3 per cent increase.

This followed from a 3.2 per cent decline in March and a 6 per cent fall in February.

Shipments of electronics declined by 6.9 per cent in April 2018, following a 7.5 per cent decrease the previous month. The fall was led by parts of PCs, integrated circuits, and diodes and transistors.

Meanwhile, non-electronic Nodx expanded 19.6 per cent after a 1.7 per cent decline in the previous month, with non-monetary gold, pharmaceuticals and food preparations contributing the most to growth.

This matched the trend in non-oil re-exports, which are often used as a proxy for the performance of the wholesale trade sector. Non-oil re-exports grew by 8.2 per cent in April after falling 0.4 per cent in March. Non-electronic re-exports grew while electronics decreased.

Nodx to most of Singapore's top 10 markets expanded in April, except for Taiwan, South Korea, Malaysia and Hong Kong. The largest contributors to growth were China, the European Union and the United States.