Singapore’s factory output beats forecast with 2.9% rise in May

SINGAPORE’S factory output grew 2.9 per cent year on year in May, as output in the key electronics sector rebounded from the previous month’s contraction, data from the Economic Development Board showed on Wednesday (Jun 26).

This was better than the forecast given by private-sector economists, who predicted a 1.4 per cent expansion in a Bloomberg poll. It was also a turnaround from the previous month’s revised 1.2 per cent contraction.

Excluding the volatile biomedical sector, output increased 10.1 per cent year on year in May, accelerating from April’s revised 1.9 per cent growth.