SINGAPORE: Manufacturing activity is at its lowest point since December 2012, as factory output, new orders and employment all fell last month.
The Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) – an early indicator of manufacturing activity – contracted for the eighth straight month to post a reading of 48.5 in February, a level last seen in 2012.
A reading below 50 shows that more purchasing managers reported a deterioration in business than those noting an improvement.
February’s reading is slightly weaker than the median forecast for a 48.9 contraction tipped by private sector economists in a Bloomberg poll.
In January, the PMI was at 49.0, after falling to 49.5 in December.
Weaker activity in the electronics cluster – which has been contracting each month since July last year – weighed down the February reading, said the Singapore Institute of Purchasing & Materials Management, which compiles the PMI.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch economist Chua Hak Bin said: “February’s data confirms that manufacturing still remains in recession – and it is possibly deepening.”
