Singapore's manufacturing fell the most in eight months in November as output of pharmaceuticals plunged by more than half. Industrial production dropped 8.2 percent from a year earlier following a 3.2 percent increase in October, the Trade and Industry Ministry said in a statement Thursday.
Pharmaceuticals, which are subject to big month-to-month swings in production and account for about a fifth of Singapore's industrial output, slid 53 percent, the ministry said. Electronics, which is about a fourth of manufacturing, rose 18 percent last month, while chemicals production gained 17 percent.
The island's economy expanded an annualised 14.2 percent in the July to September period, a second straight quarter of growth after a year of contraction. The government expects the economy to shrink up to 2.5 percent this year and grow between 3 percent and 5 percent next year. Manufacturing in November fell a seasonally adjusted 3.6 percent from October for a fourth month of decrease.