SINGAPORE’S factory output rose 1.2 per cent year on year in October, a far more modest increase compared to than the previous month’s surprise jump, data from the Economic Development Board (EDB) showed on Tuesday (Nov 26).
This was also lower than the forecast given by private-sector economists polled by Bloomberg, who predicted a 2.6 per cent expansion.
Excluding the typically volatile biomedical sector, last month’s industrial production grew just 0.4 per cent year on year, easing from September’s revised 3.6 per cent growth.
The month’s worse-than-expected performance was dragged by the biomedical manufacturing cluster, which clocked a much reduced 7.8 per cent growth, compared to the 62.3 per cent jump in September.
Meanwhile, output in the linchpin electronics cluster edged up 4.3 per cent, accelerating from the previous month’s 0.9 per cent increase.
All electronic segments recorded output growth on the back of improved orders, said EDB, with the computer peripherals and data storage segment clocking the biggest increase at 22.9 per cent.
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Transport engineering grew 10.9 per cent, a turnaround from September’s 0.6 per cent contraction.
The remaining segments clocked year on year declines in production last month:
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Chemicals (-2.2 per cent)
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Precision engineering (-15.9 per cent)
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General manufacturing (-0.6 per cent)
On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, October’s manufacturing output nudged up just 0.1 per cent, reversing from the previous month’s 1.5 per cent decline.
Excluding biomedical manufacturing, factory output fell 1.9 per cent, contracting at a slower pace than September’s 9.2 per cent fall.
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