Singapore's factory output fell in March, meaning first-quarter economic growth will be slower than the government's preliminary forecast of 6.0 percent, economists said Thursday.
Figures released Thursday by the Economic Development Board showed output in the manufacturing sector, a key pillar for the local economy, fell 2.9 percent in March from a year ago, dragged down by hefty declines in pharmaceuticals. On a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, industrial output in March slumped 9.3 percent from February, the EDB said in its monthly report.
Factory output in February was revised to 1.4 percent expansion from 0.1 percent. "Manufacturing output in March dipped 2.9 percent from March last year," the board said. "The dip was caused mainly by lower production in the biomedical manufacturing cluster."
Despite last month's decline, total production from the manufacturing sector was 4.3 percent higher in the first three months of the year compared with a year earlier, EDB said. Manufacturing accounts for one third of Singapore's gross domestic product valued at 210 billion Singapore dollars (140 billion US) last year. Economists said the March industrial figures meant economic growth in the first quarter will be lower than government's preliminary estimates of 6.0 percent released early this month.
Comments
Comments are closed.