Singapore  - Singapore's non-oil exports declined 17 per cent in November from the same month a year earlier because of declining demand in Europe, the United States and China, the government's trade-promotion agency said Wednesday.

The drop was the most in six years and was greater than the 15-per-cent dip recorded in October by International Enterprise Singapore.

On a month-on-month, seasonally adjusted basis, non-oil exports declined by 2.8 per cent in November after the previous month's 7.5-per-cent decrease, the agency said.

Total exports, including oil, fell 11.8 per cent, it said.

The statistics were released a day after Trade Minister Lim Hng Kiang said Singapore's economic growth this year might come in below the government's forecast of 2.5 per cent amid the global economic crisis.

Singapore's economy has contracted for the past two quarters, meaning it is in a recession, its first in six years.

Its non-oil imports contracted by 13 per cent in November, compared with the preceding month's 13-per-cent rise, International Enterprise Singapore said.

On a month-on-month basis, those imports contracted 16 per cent in November, compared with a 0.8-per-cent decline in October.

Total trade declined by 11 per cent in November from a year ago to reach 67 billion Singapore dollars (45.99 billion US dollars) after a 0.3-per-cent decrease in the previous month. (dpa)