Singapore manufacturing output rises 14.6pc in October

Singapore's manufacturing output rose 14.6 per cent in October compared to a year ago, driven by growth in electronics output, data from the Singapore Economic Development Board showed on Friday.

The industrial production rose for a fifteenth straight month in October, slower that the median forecast in a survey which predicted a 15.5 per cent expansion.

It grew a revised 14.4 per cent in September from a year earlier, reports Reuters.

The data comes a day after the city-state announced that its economy grew at its quickest in nearly four years in the third quarter, thanks to a boom in manufacturing that some analysts say will encourage a tightening in monetary policy next year.

Singapore and other trade-reliant economies in Asia have enjoyed a boost this year from an improvement in global demand, particularly for electronics products and components such as semiconductors.

Electronics output in October continued to show robust growth at 45.1 per cent on-year after growing 33.1 per cent in September.

But the electronics-led growth in manufacturing raises concerns that Singapore’s growth is uneven as recovery remain slow in other sectors.

On a month-on-month and seasonally adjusted basis, industrial production rose 0.7 per cent in October after a revised 1.0 per cent contraction in September. The median forecast was for a rise of 1.5 per cent.