Containers handled by the port of Singapore plunged 19.8% in February from a year ago due to continued weakness in trade, according to data from the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA).

Container throughput last month was recorded at 1.8504 million TEUs, down from 2.3084 million TEUs in the same period last year.

Month-on-month, throughput fell 6.3% in February from 1.9744 million TEUs in January, MPA figures showed.

PSA International handled 3.72 million TEUs at its Singapore terminals in the first two months of 2009, down 19.7% from a year earlier.

The decline in box figures comes after Singapore's key non-oil exports slumped in January at a record 34.8% from a year earlier as a deteriorating global economy hits demand for Asian goods.