2020.02.2604:35:00UTC+00Singapore Industrial Production Grows In January

Singapore industrial production rose unexpectedly in January, data from the Economic Development Board showed on Wednesday.

Industrial production increased 3.4 percent year-on-year in January, reversing a 3.7 percent drop in December. Economists had forecast a 5.3 percent fall.

Excluding biomedical manufacturing, industrial output fell 3.8 percent in January, following a 4.4 percent decline in the previous month.

Among clusters, biomedical manufacturing grew 41.1 percent annually in January and precision engineering rose by 18.1 percent.

Meanwhile, general manufacturing contracted 10.6 percent. Transport engineering decreased 9.3 percent and those of electronics output and chemicals fell 7.2 percent and 5.5 percent, respectively.

On a monthly basis, industrial production increased 18.2 percent in January, following a 6.3 percent rise in the prior month. Output was expected to rise 0.6 percent.