Singapore’s factory output growth accelerates to 15.4% in August, but undershoots estimates

[SINGAPORE] The Republic’s factory output surged 15.4 per cent year on year in August, picking up from July’s revised 6.9 per cent growth – but falling below consensus estimates for a median 18.3 per cent expansion in a Bloomberg poll.

Excluding the volatile biomedical manufacturing cluster, output grew 17 per cent year on year, extending the 8.2 per cent increase recorded in July, data from the Economic Development Board (EDB) showed on Monday (Sep 28).

On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, factory output slipped 0.5 per cent in August, marking a reversal from July’s 2.3 per cent gain. Excluding biomedical manufacturing, output grew 5.8 per cent, compared with an 0.8 per cent rise in the previous month.