Singapore’s exports grew in the double digits for the sixth straight month in May but at a slower pace than the month before, and the growth in shipments could slow further in coming months as the island state begins to feel the full impact of the European sovereign debt troubles.

Non-oil domestic exports grew 24.4% from a year earlier, data released Thursday showed, below the 26.8% median forecast of seven economists polled by Dow Jones Newswires and slower than the upwardly revised 30% expansion in April.

“One of the key risks for Singapore trade we see is the potential spillover impact of the Europe sovereign debt crisis on trade flows and trade financing to the region,” said Alvin Liew, an economist with Standard Chartered Bank based in Singapore. The island nation’s economy, being much more trade-dependent than many of its regional peers, could be one of the first to manifest the “Europe debt effect” in its trade data, he said.

Singapore’s exports to Europe rose 5.7% in May, slowing from 21.3% expansion in the previous month. Merchandise shipped to other main destinations such as China and the US, however, continued to grow robustly.

Exports to China grew 63.6% on year after a 29.4% gain in April. Exports to the US rose 28.9% from a year earlier compared with a 45.8% rise in April, the trade promotion agency International Enterprise Singapore said in a statement Thursday.

Electronics exports, the main-stay of Singapore’s external trade, grew 38.9% on year, accelerating from 21.2% in the previous month.

“Though the headline numbers may have peaked, Singapore’s exports data reflect the continued healthy rebound in global demand,” said David Cohen, the Director of Asian Economic Forecasting at Action Economics. “Data from around the world point that global recovery will remain on track and Singapore’s exports should participate in that growth.”

Pharmaceutical exports declined 32.8% in May after contracting 27.8% in the previous month. The sector’s performance varies dramatically as companies frequently change the composition of their production.

Exports fell 0.1% from the previous month in seasonally adjusted terms, compared with a revised 2.5% growth in April and 1.5% rise forecast by the poll.