text: Singapore: Manufacturing output surged on volatile pharmaceutical production
  Home > News > Manufacturing output surged on volatile pharmaceutical production
  In August, manufacturing production expanded 21.7% over the same month last year, which was nearly triple the 7.6% increase recorded in July. The buoyant print surprised the market on the upside, as analysts expected a softer 12.8% expansion. The better-than-expected figure was mostly driven by a surge of 145% in biomedical manufacturing, which reflected a ?mix of higher valued-added? products in the highly volatile pharmaceutical sector. In contrast, production of electronics, which accounts for nearly a third of the total industry, contracted 21.9%. A month-on-month comparison corroborates the acceleration suggested by the annual figures, as manufacturing output increased a seasonally adjusted 3.9% in August (July: +0.4% mom). Furthermore, owing to the strong print, annual average growth rose from 10.9% in July to 12.1% in August. The government expects the economy to grow between 5.0% and 6.0% this year.
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