Dismal start to 2015 for manufacturing
Q1 GDP growth could come in under 2%; some economists see higher risk of further MAS easing in April
Singapore
IT was a slow and disappointing start to 2015 for Singapore's manufacturing sector, which grew less than expected in January despite an undemanding year-ago base. The surprisingly weak showing was due to a broad-based, uninspiring performance across all industrial clusters, save biomedical manufacturing and precision engineering.
Factory output rose just 0.9 per cent in January on a year-on-year basis, far lower than the market's consensus forecast of a 3.3 per cent increase. Strip out the volatile biomedical cluster, and the result would have been even worse: a zero-growth outcome with unchanged output.
KEYWORDS IN THIS ARTICLE
BT is now on Telegram!
For daily updates on weekdays and specially selected content for the weekend. Subscribe to t.me/BizTimes
Economy & Policy
Singapore must prepare for slower growth at higher costs: MAS
Outgoing Singapore, Indonesia leaders to hold their final retreat in Bogor on Apr 29
Singapore factory output reverses into negative territory in March, down 9.2%
Singapore’s growth should strengthen to ‘around potential rate’, output gap to close by end-2024: MAS
Gan Kim Yong visits US and Canada; to mark 20th anniversary of US-Singapore FTA
NTUC aims to do more to support PMEs, who now account for nearly half its membership