Singapore Aug manufacturing output dives 12% y/y, more than expected

A general view of factories at an industrial park in Singapore. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File photo

SINGAPORE  – Singapore’s industrial output in August plunged 12.1 percent year-on-year, contracting for an 11th consecutive month and more steeply than expected, official data showed on Tuesday.

Economists had expected a 3.1-percent year-on-year contraction in August, according to a Reuters poll. On a month-on-month and seasonally adjusted basis, industrial production fell 10.5 percent in August, missing economists’ expectation of a 1.7-percent contraction.

Electronics, a key contributor to Singapore’s industrial output, decreased 20 percent year-on-year in August, data from the Singapore Economic Development Board showed, reflecting faltering global demand.

Last month, the trade-reliant nation downgraded slightly its economic forecast for this year after it narrowly averted a recession in the second quarter.