Rebound in factory output in February could moderate this month, say economists

SINGAPORE'S factory output rebounded sharply in February after a brief slowdown, but economists believe growth could begin to moderate in the coming months amid greater uncertainty in the external environment.

Industrial output jumped 17.6 per cent year on year in February, from 2.4 per cent in the previous month, on the back of a surge in electronics and biomedical production, according to data from the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) released on Friday (Mar 25).

This took private-sector economists by surprise, as they had projected a 6.3 per cent growth, a Bloomberg poll found.