SINGAPORE: Singapore's manufacturing output expanded by 24.7 per cent in April on a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, a surprise given weak April exports.
Manufacturing contracted 0.5 per cent from a year earlier, recovering sharply from a record 32.8 per cent fall in March, as a jump in biomedical and transport engineering production offset a fall in electronics output, the Economic Development Board said in a statement on Tuesday.
The rise in the month-on-month data contrasted with non-oil exports in April, which fell a seasonally adjusted 1.3 per cent from March, and declined 19.2 per cent from a year earlier.
Singapore exports the bulk of its manufactured products and the manufacturing sector accounts for about one quarter of the economy.
Manufacturing output excluding the biomedical segment fell 16.4 per cent on-year, compared with a 23.1 per cent decline in March.
Biomedical output rose 68.4 per cent on-year. Pharmaceuticals output rose 77.9 per cent due to a "greater variety of active pharmaceutical ingredients produced and higher production of existing products," the EDB said.
Singapore's pharmaceuticals sector is dominated by a small number of firms, and output can vary significantly when plants change product lineups or close for maintenance.
Electronics output fell 24.2 per cent, but the statement said that some segments showed higher output compared with March.
The transport engineering sector saw output rise 14.8 per cent due to strong performance by the marine and offshore engineering segment.
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