Industrial output continues to expand but slower rate

SINGAPORE, (July 26, 2010) - Singapore's manufacturing output continued to expand at breathtaking pace even as the country recently released record breaking GDP growth for the second quarter but observers noticed the latest expansion was at a slower rate with some signs of contraction in some sectors.

According to the government investment promotion agency Economic Development Board (EDB), industrial production in June rose by 26.1 per cent on-year. This was slower than the market forecasts for an expansion of 36.7 percent on-year. 

Output surged 58.6 percent in May and 49.7 percent in April, the two months which contributed to the spectacular GDP expansion in the second quarter.

Indeed when compared to the month of May, output in June decreased by 23.4 percent. 

Excluding biomedical manufacturing, output would have fallen by only 1.8 percent. 


The sharpest deceleration in growth was seen in the biomedical manufacturing segment, which surged 29.8 percent on-year in June, against the 117.7 percent on-year growth in May.

The Singapore economy enjoyed better-than-expected economic growth in the second quarter, rising 26 per cent in the three months ended in June compared to the prior period on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to the Ministry of Trade and Industry. Some economists now expect the economy to slow in the second half.