SINGAPORE, Oct 26 (Reuters) – Singapore’s industrial output
blew past forecasts to rise 24.2% year-on-year in September, its
fastest pace in nine years, boosted by pharmaceutical
manufacturing more than doubling last month, official data
showed on Monday.
Economists had expected a 2.5% increase, according to the
median of their forecasts in a Reuters poll. The climb was the
biggest since December 2011 and marked the second straight
increase in monthly manufacturing after revised 15.4% jump in
August.
“Looks like manufacturing will be the key driver and silver
lining for the Singapore recovery story in the short term,” said
Selena Ling, head of treasury research and strategy at OCBC
Bank.
Pharmaceutical manufacturing, which is known to be volatile,
grew 113.6% on-year, with higher output of active pharmaceutical
ingredients and biological products. Electronics output grew
30.1% led by the semiconductors segment.
On a month-on-month and seasonally adjusted basis,
industrial production increased 10.1% in September, data from
the Singapore Economic Development Board showed. Economists had
expected a 7.8% decline.
Brian Tan, regional economist at Barclays, said although
electronics sector should continue to hold up, the “fairly
robust numbers are unsustainable for a prolonged period.”
Singapore, whose small and open economy has been hit hard by
the COVID-19 pandemic, expects its full-year gross domestic
product (GDP) to shrink 5%-7%.
(Editing by Aradhana Aravindan and Rashmi Aich)
