Singapore manufacturing output posts 2.9% rise in May

Data beats economists’ forecast of 1.4%; rise driven by rebound in key electronics sector

- Timothy Goh

Singapore’s manufacturing output turned positive in May, fuelled by a rebound in the key electronics sector.

Total output grew a better-than-expected 2.9 per cent year on year in May, after a revised 1.2 per cent drop in April and the 9.2 per cent contraction suffered in March.

Economists in a Bloomberg poll had predicted a 1.4 per cent expansion.

Excluding the more volatile biomedical industry, production rose 10.1 per cent, data released by the Economic Development Board on June 26 showed.

On a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, production increased by 1.1 per cent in May. Excluding biomedical manufacturing, it rose 7.7 per cent.

The electronics industry, which accounts for nearly half of Singapore’s manufacturing production, saw output grow by 20.1 per cent year on year, after shrinking 1.1 per cent in April.

Within electronics, semiconductors – which make up about 41 per cent of total factory output – surged 20.6 per cent.

Other electronics modules and components segments rose 30.2 per cent on the back of improved orders, while computer peripherals and data storage grew 24.9 per cent, and infocomms and consumer electronics production added 7 per cent.

DBS Bank economist Chua Han Teng said the electronics cluster’s performance will be instrumental to Singapore’s factory recovery in 2024.