Singapore manufacturing gloom deepens

SINGAPORE'S manufacturing sector contracted further in March, going by the latest purchasing managers' index (PMI), but economists are expecting things to turn around in the next two quarters.

Dipping further below the 50-point reading that demarcates growth from contraction, the barometer of industrial performance has now signalled four consecutive months of shrinking activity. This, after the sector's output fell a larger than expected 3.6 per cent in February.

But last month's reading of 49.6, down from February's 49.7, put Singapore in the company of other Asian economies - many of whom reported weaker PMIs on Wednesday.

Mixed readings from China - the official PMI indicated expansion while the HSBC PMI pointed to more contraction - left HSBC economist Frederic Neumann concluding that China's manufa…