Singapore manufacturing production rises the most since June 2021

Singapore’s manufacturing output has increased at an annualized rate of 21% in August, while picking up from a 2% growth in July.

It has been the fastest rate of growth since June 2021.

The latest data far exceeded market consensus of a 9.6% growth.

In August, production of electronics surged sharply, by 49.1% YoY after a 2.9% YoY rise in July.

In addition, output growth accelerated for:

– precision engineering (7.9% YoY after a 1.6% YoY rise in July);
– chemicals (11.1% YoY after a 1.8% YoY rise in July).

In the meantime, output growth slowed for:

– transport engineering (3.9% YoY after a 13.7% YoY surge in July);
– general manufacturing industries (2.5% YoY after a 7.4% YoY increase in July).

In monthly terms, the nation’s manufacturing output expanded 6.7% in August, while slowing from a 10.2% growth in July.

The Singapore Dollar was 0.14% firmer against its US counterpart on Thursday, with the USD/SGD currency pair last trading at 1.2865.

Investor focus now sets on the final US GDP data for Q2 and a host of public appearances by Fed officials, which may provide more clues on the interest rate outlook.