Singapore share prices are likely to trade firmer if the city-state's export figures in May improved as expected, dealers said. The government is expected to release on Monday the non-oil domestic exports (NODX) figures for May where analysts have projected an increase of 1.7 to 8.0 percent from last year.
Singapore's NODX fell 0.4 percent in April against industry expectations for a rise, dragged down by a sharp decline in electronics shipments. "The pharmaceuticals sector is notoriously volatile month to month and it dipped in April, so we are expecting a big rebound from this sector in May," said Action Economics chief Asian economist David Cohen.
Cohen has pencilled in an 8.0 percent rise in NODX for May. The main Straits Times index closed Friday at 3,581.16 points, up 89.57 points or 2.57 percent over the past week. Average volume traded was 3.72 billion shares worth 2.26 billion Singapore dollars (1.47 billion US) compared with 3.07 billion shares worth 2.33 billion dollars last week.