Singapore"s manufacturing output grows 4% on-year in Nov

Singapore’s manufacturing output grew at a slower-than-expected pace of 4 per cent on-year in November, dragged down mainly by lower output from the biomedical and chemicals sectors.

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An integrated solar manufacturing facility in Singapore. (AFP/Roslan Rahman)

SINGAPORE: Singapore’s manufacturing output grew at a slower-than-expected pace of 4 per cent on-year in November, dragged down mainly by lower output from the biomedical and chemicals sectors.

Economists had expected November’s manufacturing output to grow at about 5.7 per cent, compared to the 8.3-per cent growth recorded in October.

Excluding biomedical manufacturing, output increased 5.5 per cent, according to data from the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB).

The electronics cluster’s output expanded 11.0 per cent on-year in November, led mainly by gains in the other electronics modules components (22.7 per cent), computer peripherals (17.9 per cent) and semiconductors (17.8 per cent) segments.

Output of the transport engineering cluster increased 6.3 per cent on-year, supported by higher contributions from aircraft engine repair jobs and rig building projects.

Meanwhile, output of the biomedical manufacturing cluster contracted 2.1 per cent on-year in November, attributed mainly to a 3.2 per cent drop in pharmaceuticals output.

The chemicals cluster’s output also fell 2.7 per cent on-year in November, hit largely by a 17.2-per cent contraction in the petroleum segment as throughput was affected by weak refining margins.

On a month-on-month basis, manufacturing output contracted 2.8 percent in November.

Excluding biomedical manufacturing, output fell 4.7 per cent.  

- CNA/xq

Singapore"s manufacturing output grows 4% on-year in Nov