Feb electronics PMI sinks to seven-year low on Covid-19 fears

Singapore

THE coronavirus outbreak has cast a pall on Singapore's manufacturing and electronics sentiment in February, even though both were on the brink of recovery just a month ago, a development that was no surprise to economists.

The Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for the electronics sector sank 2.5 points to record a contraction of 47.6 in February, reversing January's optimism and ending the brief one-month reprieve that came after 14 straight months in the dumps, according to the Singapore Institute of Purchasing and Materials Management (SIPMM) on Tuesday.