Singapore’s factory output displayed resilience in February, defying expectations and expanding by 3.8 per cent year on year. This surpassed analysts’ forecasts, which had predicted a mere 0.5 per cent growth.
The Economic Development Board (EDB) reported that excluding the volatile biomedical industry, output still increased by a solid 1.4 per cent in February. However, January’s growth figures were revised downward to 0.6 per cent from an earlier estimate of 1.1 per cent.
One of the highlights in February was the modest 2.6 per cent increase in output by the electronics industry, a significant improvement from the 4.7 per cent contraction seen in January. Within this sector, the infocomms and consumer electronics segment surged by 30.9 per cent, while semiconductors saw a growth of 2.1 per cent. However, the computer peripherals and data storage segment experienced a decline of 10.7 per cent.
Another positive development was seen in the biomedical industry, which returned to growth in February, expanding by 27.4 per cent after a 25.9 per cent contraction in January. The pharmaceutical segment was the main driver, growing by an impressive 73.2 per cent.
The chemicals sector also performed well, with output rising by 11.2 per cent in February. The petrochemicals segment, in particular, saw a growth of 22.3 per cent, partly due to a low production base in 2023 caused by plant maintenance shutdowns.
Despite these positive trends, two industries saw a decline in production. Precision engineering output slumped as output fell by 19.9 per cent, mainly due to contractions in the precision modules and components segment, as well as the machinery and systems segment.
General manufacturing’s output also dropped by 3.4 per cent, with declines in the miscellaneous industries segment outweighing growth in the printing and food, beverages, and tobacco segments.
For the full year 2024, analysts are looking for at least a 2 per cent improvement over 2023. The outlook will depend significantly on global demand, especially in key sectors like electronics and pharmaceuticals, as well as China’s recovery and the geopolitical landscape.
Overall, experts are cautiously optimistic about Singapore’s economic prospects, with first-quarter gross domestic product growth expected to come in at 2.5 per cent.
(Source: The Straits Times | The Business Times |
