Singapore's domestic exports grew by 11 per cent in August, boosted by increased shipments of pharmaceuticals, which tempered a sustained decline in electronics, the government said on Monday.

This is the fastest pace in eight months, following July's export growth of 5.4 per cent.

A key driver of export growth was pharmaceuticals, which surged 105.8 per cent from the same period last year to S$2.07 billion, according to figures released by the trade agency International Enterprise Singapore. This offset a 1.3 per cent decrease in electronics exports to $6.43 billion.

However, electronics, which makes up nearly half of locally-made exports and is dependent on global demand, shrank for the seventh month in a row, by 1.3 per cent.

Still, it is the smallest monthly contraction in electronics since February.

Shipments of exports to the European Union and China saw double-digit growth of 42 per cent and 11 per cent respectively, while the US bought 2.9 per cent more Singapore products than a year ago, after three months of declines.

Non-oil exports rose more than expected in August, climbing a seasonally adjusted 2.1 per cent from July, the data showed.

August's rise compared with market expectations for a 0.8 percent gain, and followed a 0.5 per cent increase in July.

Non-oil exports in August rose 10.9 per cent from a year earlier to $15.2 billion, said IE Singapore said in a statement. That compared with a 5.5 per cent rise in July.

Economists had expected August exports to be boosted by higher drug output, although the key electronics production was expected to remain weak.

Except for consumer electronics exports which climbed 35.6 per cent, four other key electronics products posted declines, led by telecommunications equipment which fell 39.2 percent.

Shipments of disc drives dropped 26.3 percent, integrated circuits were down 5.2 percent and computer parts contracted 6.5 percent, IE Singapore said.

On a month-on-month seasonally adjusted basis, NODX expanded 2.1 percent, faster than the 0.5 percent rise in July, it said.

Total trade was up 0.7 percent to $72.43 billion, but this was slower than the 6.2 percent expansion in July, the agency said.

Exports totalled $38.87 billion, up 2.6 percent, while imports shrank 1.4 perc ent to $33.56 billion.

NODX is a closely watched measure of the health of Singapore's trade-reliant economy, which is tipped by the government to grow between 7.0 and 8.0 percent this year after expanding 7.9 per cent in 2006.