S'pore factory output beats forecasts with 21% rise

Singapore's manufacturing output expanded for a second consecutive month in August, driven by robust production in the electronics industry.

- Timothy Goh

Total output soared by 21 per cent year on year, after an upwardly revised 2 per cent growth in July and a 4.2 per cent drop in June.

Economists in a Bloomberg poll had predicted an 8.6 per cent expansion.

Excluding the more volatile biomedical industry, production increased 27.5 per cent, data released by the Economic Development Board showed on Sept 26.

On a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, manufacturing output increased 6.7 per cent. Excluding biomedical manufacturing, output grew 11 per cent.

The electronics industry, which accounts for nearly half of Singapore's manufacturing production, saw output surge by 49.1 per cent year on year, after a revised 2.9 per cent jump in July.

Within the cluster, semiconductors jumped 54.6 per cent. Other electronic modules and components rose 21.5 per cent, while computer peripherals and data storage grew 18.4 per cent, and infocomms and consumer electronics added 28.6 per cent.

DBS Bank economist Chua Han Teng noted that the expansion in electronics production was the largest since 2017.