Singapore's factory output for February disappoints

Singapore

SINGAPORE'S manufacturing sector contracted more than expected in February, falling 3.6 per cent year on year on the back of plant closures during the Chinese New Year holidays and muted external demand.

February's drop was sharper than the 2.2 per cent decline projected by economists. In contrast, January's figure had been up 1.3 per cent.

Stripping out the volatile biomedical cluster,…