Singapore's Factory Output Growth Slows to 5.9% in April as Tariffs Cloud Trade Outlook

It beats analysts' forecast of 2.5%, with front-loading driving up key electronics production

- Tay Hong Yi

Singapore's manufacturing output grew at a slower pace in April from a month ago as pharmaceutical production dropped amid continuing uncertainty in the Republic's trade outlook.

April's factory production rose 5.9 per cent from a year ago, down from 6.8 per cent growth in March, according to monthly data from the Economic Development Board (EDB) on May 26. EDB upwardly revised the March growth rate from 5.8 per cent.

Still, April's factory output growth easily topped the 2.5 per cent increase forecast by analysts in a Bloomberg poll, with front-loading driving up key electronics production.

Excluding volatile biomedical manufacturing, which shrank 1.1 per cent, output rose 8.1 per cent in April.

Within the biomedical industry, medical technology output grew 4.9 per cent on the back of sustained export demand for medical devices.

However, this was more than offset by a 1.6 per cent drop for the larger pharmaceuticals segment, on account of a different mix of active pharmaceutical ingredients being produced compared with a year ago.

For the first four months of 2025, biomedical output declined 0.5 per cent year on year.

The result for biomedical manufacturing comes amid an unsure trade outlook as Singapore looks to negotiate for zero tariffs on pharmaceutical exports to the United States.