Singapore’s manufacturing production shrinks 1.6% in April

Singapore’s manufacturing output has decreased at an annualized rate of 1.6% in April, while slowing from a 9.2% contraction in March.

The latest data confounded market consensus of a 0.2% growth.

In April, production rebounded for transport engineering (10.6% YoY after a 7.3% YoY drop in March) and for general manufacturing industries (7.3% YoY following a 3.1% YoY slump in March).

Production shrank at a softer pace for electronics (-1.1% YoY compared to -11.3% YoY in March) and for biomedical manufacturing (-29.1% YoY compared to -34.8% YoY in March).

Meanwhile, production slowed for chemicals (3.1% YoY from 4.1% YoY in March) and for precision engineering (2.9% YoY from 3.1% YoY in March).

In monthly terms, the nation’s manufacturing output expanded 7.1% in April, while rebounding from a revised up 16% drop in the prior month.

The USD/SGD currency pair settled 0.14% lower at 1.3495 on Friday. For the week, the exotic currency pair edged up 0.30%, while reversing a 0.66% loss from the preceding week.

The Forex pair has pulled back from a 1 1/2-week high of 1.3526, which it registered on Friday.