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September pharma slump could be a blip, but Singapore factory growth is set to cool

Annabeth Leow
Published Tue, Oct 26, 2021 · 06:05 PM

LOWER output in the volatile pharmaceuticals segment sent Singapore's manufacturing sector into negative territory in September, snapping a 10-month winning streak.

But the factory output decline is unlikely to persist in the coming months, even as growth cools on a high base and supply constraints, watchers said on Tuesday (Oct 26).

Industrial production missed private-sector analysts' expectations to shrink by 3.4 per cent year on year, reversing the 11.0 per cent expansion in August, according to data from the Economic Development Board (EDB).

Still, Maybank Kim Eng economists Lee Ju Ye and Chua Hak Bin called the contraction "likely a blip due to the exceptionally high base last year".

"We expect manufacturing growth to return to positive territory in October, although growth will likely be in the single-digit pace," they w…

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