Biomed sector boosts Singapore June factory output

Singapore

SINGAPORE'S factory output came in ahead of forecast in June, but that has not lifted fears over manufacturing cooling down from recent highs.

Industrial production was up by 7.4 per cent on the previous year, according to Economic Development Board data out on Thursday. It beat economists' expectations of 3.3 per cent growth, but still eased from the month before, with the revised figure for May coming in at 12.9 per cent.

Manufacturing performance was supported by the volatile biomedical manufacturing cluster, where output rose by 13.8 per cent. Excluding the fillip from that cluster, factories here clocked 5.9 per cent growth in June.

The powerhouse electronics cluster saw output expand by just 7.1 per cent - a far cry from the 18.7 per cent jump registered in May. Semiconductors continued to prop up the cluster, clocking output growth of 10.2 per cent, but this was still a…