SINGAPORE: Singapore’s industrial production in April likely rose from a year earlier, but at a slower pace as exports declined, a Reuters poll showed. The median forecast of 12 analysts was for April output <SGMFGY=ECI> to increase 6.4 percent. The annual rise in March was 10.2 percent. On a month-on-month, seasonally adjusted basis, industrial production <<SGMG=ECI> s seen to have contracted 0.3 percent. Helping output expand from a year earlier is that growth in electronics production “likely continued,” Standard Chartered Global Research said in a note. “But the pace may have slowed, as (April) electronics exports rose only 4.8 percent year-on-year after registering a robust 9.0 percent increase in Q1-2017… We have been cautious about the sustainability of demand for electronics, as demand is not broad-based,” the bank said. March’s robust output growth prompted analysts to revise first quarter final GDP forecasts upwards.
However, given the April non-oil exports, Q1 “may well prove to be the peak of the current cycle,” NatWest Markets economist Vaninder Singh warned. Singapore is among export-reliant Asian economies benefiting from a general uptick in global demand in recent months. But weaker numbers for April cloud the outlook. Exports unexpectedly fell 0.7 percent in April after five months of growth due to a tumble in pharmaceutical shipments.
