Economic Buzz: Singapore industrial output contracts sharply in August

Singapore's industrial production declined in August on sharp contraction in biomedical manufacturing, the Economic Development Board said Friday.

Manufacturing output shrank 7.8 percent in August from a year ago, offsetting July's 7.7 percent increase. Output was expected to drop only by 2.5 percent.

Excluding biomedical manufacturing, production was down 2.9 percent, in contrast to the 10.1 percent increase in the previous month.

Data showed that biomedical manufacturing logged an annual decline of 37.3 percent, which was due to the sharp 59.3 percent fall in the pharmaceutical segment. General manufacturing dropped 13.9 percent and electronics output slid 4.8 percent. Precision engineering posted a moderate 1.7 percent fall.

Meanwhile, transport engineering output advanced 18.9 percent from a year ago and chemical output gained 3.5 percent.

On a monthly basis, industrial production plunged 9.7 percent, reversing the 8.8 percent rise in July.

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