Singapore’s manufacturing production shrinks the most since August 2023

Singapore’s manufacturing output shrank at an annual rate of 9.2% in March, following a revised up 4.4% growth in February, according to data by Singapore Economic Development Board.

In comparison, market consensus had pointed to a considerably smaller decrease, by 1.5%.

It has been the steepest year-on-year contraction since August 2023.

In March, production substantially shrank for electronics (-11.3% YoY compared to a 3.9% YoY surge in February), biomedical manufacturing (-34.3% YoY compared to a 26.8% YoY increase in February) and transport engineering (-9.7% YoY compared to a 19.8% YoY surge in February).

Meanwhile, production slowed for chemicals (4.2% YoY compared to 11.7% YoY in February) and rebounded for precision engineering (3.2% YoY compared to a 20.2% YoY slump in February).

In monthly terms, the nation’s manufacturing output contracted 16% in March, following a revised up 14.6% growth in the prior month.

The USD/SGD currency pair settled 0.27% higher at 1.3627 on Friday. For the week, the exotic currency pair edged up 0.21%, while reversing a small loss from the preceding week.