Singapore's manufacturing output dropped unexpectedly in April driven by contraction in biomedical and electronic production, data from the Economic Development Board showed Friday.
Manufacturing output declined 0.3 percent in April from a year ago, smaller than the 3.1 percent decrease logged in March. Nonetheless, economists were forecasting an increase 4.1 percent for April.
Excluding biomedical manufacturing, output increased 0.5 percent annually. The transport engineering cluster expanded 29.1 percent and precision engineering climbed 2.7 percent. General manufacturing and chemical output advanced 2 percent and 1.1 percent, respectively.
On the other hand, biomedical manufacturing cluster fell 4.2 percent and electronic output plunged 12.5 percent.
On a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, manufacturing output contracted 3.5 percent in April. The expected rate of growth was 0.6 percent. Excluding biomedical manufacturing, output slipped 0.8 percent.
by RTT Staff Writer
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