April’s factory activity marks the third-straight month of decline

SINGAPORE — Industrial output shrunk further last month, weighed down by contraction in all segments except the chemicals and electronics clusters, data from the Economic Development Board showed today (May 26).

Manufacturing activity for April fell by 8.7 per cent, extending from the 5.5 per cent decline in March and the 3.3 per cent drop in February. Economists from a Reuters poll had expected a 3.0 per cent decline.

Output from four out of six clusters declined, with precision engineering, general manufacturing, transport engineering on a single digit percentage decrease and biomedical manufacturing on a double digit percentage decline.