SINGAPORE'S non-oil exports fell an unexpected 7.4 per cent in October from the previous month after seasonal adjustments, the latest evidence that the worsening financial crisis has reduced demand for Asian exports.

October's fall compared with market expectations for marginal growth of 0.3 per cent, and followed a worse-than-expected revised 0.9 per cent drop in September.

Non-oil exports in October fell 15.3 per cent from a year earlier to S$13.4 billion, trade agency International Enterprise Singapore said in a statement on Monday.

That compared with a 5.7 per cent fall in September, and with a median forecast in a Reuters poll for a drop of 8.5 per cent.

Singapore's economy heavily depends on trade, and non-oil domestic exports were worth about 70 per cent of the country's gross domestic product last year.

Economists had expected monthly exports to edge up in October as a rebound in drug sales offset persistent weakness in electronic shipments.

October's electronics shipments fell by 15 per cent from a year ago while drugs exports fell unexpectedly, down 38.9 per cent in the same period. Petrochemicals dropped 15 per cent.

Singapore's non-oil domestic exports, which comprise of goods that have been made in Singapore or undergone further processing, include mobile phones, medical instruments, and active ingredients for some blockbuster drugs.