SINGAPORE: Growth in Singapore’s manufacturing sector moderated in February following an eight-year-high reading the previous month, largely due to a pullback in new orders and output, particularly in the electronics segment. The Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) – an early indicator of manufacturing activity – came in at 52.7 points in February, a dip of 0.4 point from January, according to data released by the Singapore Institute of Purchasing and Materials Management (SIPMM) on Friday (Mar 2).
Despite the lower reading, February’s PMI records the 18th consecutive month of expansion for Singapore’s manufacturing sector. A PMI reading above 50 indicates that the manufacturing economy is generally expanding, while a reading below 50 indicates that it is generally declining.
She added that the manufacturing growth for the first quarter of the year as well as the full year are estimated at a “still healthy” pace of 6.7 per cent year-on-year and 4.9 per cent year-on-year respectively.
