Singapore
SINGAPORE'S factory output continued to surge in April, defying expectations that the manufacturing sector will slow down.
The momentum of the sector may have taken economists by surprise, but they still expect the growth pace to ease in the coming quarters, weighed down by moderating global semiconductor demand and the high base of the electronics cluster last year.
But it is the incongruence in the manufacturing data that has left economists scratching their heads - electronics production has continued to expand despite electronics exports contracting in the last few quarters.
Maybank Kim Eng economists Chua Hak Bin and Lee Ju Ye told The Business Times that they remain "somewhat perplexed"...