January output shrinks for first time in a year

Singapore

SINGAPORE'S manufacturing sector started the year on shaky footing, with factory output contracting for the first time since December 2017.

Economists said that the underwhelming start - while expected - does not bode well for the rest of the year as manufacturing weakness is likely to continue, with some cutting their growth outlook for 2019 on the back of recent disappointing data including non-oil domestic exports.

Industrial production (IP) declined 3.1 per cent in January from a year ago, compared to a revised growth of 1.7 per cent in December 2018, according to data from the Singapore Economic Development Board.

This is exactly on target with economist projections, with pundits blaming a combination of factors such as high base effects, the fading electronics cycle, slowing Chinese dem…