Singapore Industrial Output Recovers 2.9%

(RTTNews) - Singapore's industrial production increased for the first time in three months in May, largely led by a surge in electronics output, preliminary data from the Economic Development Board revealed on Wednesday.

Industrial production climbed 2.9 percent year-on-year in May, reversing a 1.2 percent fall in April. The expected increase was 2.0 percent.

Excluding bio-medical manufacturing, industrial production advanced sharply by 10.1 percent annually in May versus a 1.9 percent rise in the prior month.

On a monthly basis, industrial production increased at a slower pace of 1.1 percent after rising 7.5 percent in April.

Among the major clusters, the electronics segment grew the most by 20.1 percent annually in May, and chemical output showed an increase of 7.9 percent.

Meanwhile, biomedical manufacturing output plunged 42.6 percent, and precision engineering output was 8.3 percent lower.