Singapore's total external trade increased by 28 percent in the second quarter of 2010 on a year-on- year basis, after a 27 percent rise recorded in the previous quarter, official data showed.

The level of total trade reached 228 billion Singapore dollars (about 169 billion U.S. dollars) in the second quarter of this year. Total exports and total imports expanded year-on-year by 29 and 27 percent respectively in the second quarter, according to trade promoting agency International Enterprise (IE) Singapore.

The rise in total trade in the second quarter can be attributed to increases in both oil and non-oil trade. Oil trade grew by 47 percent year-on-year in the second quarter, after the previous quarter's 58 percent rise. Non-oil trade increased by 22 percent in the second quarter, following the 19 percent expansion in the previous quarter.

On a year-on-year basis, the key non-oil domestic exports (NODX) increased by 28 percent in the second quarter, after the 23 percent growth in the first quarter, on higher shipments of both electronic and non-electronic NODX.

For the remainder of 2010, IE Singapore said the weakening of the Euro against the currencies of key trading partners and sluggish domestic demand in the United States and the Europe Union is expected to dampen world trade in the second half of 2010.

The projection for Singapore's total trade growth in 2010 was recently revised from between 14 and 16 percent to between 17 and 19 percent. At the same time, the forecast for NODX growth in 2010 has also been raised to between 17 and 19 percent, up from between 15 and 17 percent.