Singapore’s Factory Output Drops Most in More Than 3 Years

Singapore’s industrial output fell the most since November 2019, as the electronics segment continued to be the main drag on growth.

(Bloomberg) — Singapore’s industrial output fell the most since November 2019, as the electronics segment continued to be the main drag on growth. 

Factory output declined 10.8% from a year earlier in May, worse than the 7.3% drop predicted in a Bloomberg survey, marking the eighth straight month of contraction.

Production of electronics, which accounts for the largest weight in the city-state’s export-driven manufacturing sector, plunged 23% on the year, with semiconductors seeing the cluster’s worst drop.  

The chemicals industry saw output drop 9.5%, while biomedical grew 4.4%. 

In May, the Ministry of Trade and Industry stated that the island’s trade-reliant economy should avoid a recession this year despite a darkening global outlook, with officials expecting non-oil domestic exports to decline between 8%-10% this year.

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