Singapore's Factory Output Growth Slows to 3.9% in May

Slowdown comes as world braces itself for expiration of Trump's global tariff reprieve

- Sheila Chiang

Singapore's factory output grew at a slower pace for a second straight month in May as a tariff-induced front-loading of exports continued to taper off.

The world economy is now just about two weeks away from the July 9 expiration of US President Donald Trump's global tariff reprieve and the uncertainty of what trade deals will finally follow.

Factory output rose 3.9 per cent year on year, after a revised 5.6 per cent rise in April, which was a slowdown from March's 6.9 per cent expansion.

Still, May's reading surpassed the 2.2 per cent growth forecast by economists in a Bloomberg poll.

Excluding the more volatile biomedical industry, factory output increased 4.9 per cent, data from the Economic Development Board on June 26 showed.

In a more telling indication of slowing momentum, manufacturing output fell month on month, slipping 0.4 per cent from April, after seasonal adjustments. Excluding biomedical production, output increased 0.7 per cent.

The United States announced a 90-day suspension of global reciprocal tariffs, excluding China, on April 9. The same reprieve was extended to electronics on April 12. The US and China subsequently announced on May 12 a deal to slash tariffs, which would also last 90 days.

Singapore's key exports saw a 12.4 per cent year-on-year jump which economists credited to front-loading as exporters accelerated shipments to take advantage of the pause in reciprocal tariffs before potential further duties. But in May, key exports fell 3.5 per cent as front-loading cooled.