Singapore's manufacturing PMI falls to 52.4 in September

Source: Xinhua | 2018-10-03

The Singapore Institute of Purchasing and Materials Management (SIPMM) announced on Tuesday the country's purchasing managers' index (PMI), an early indicator of manufacturing activity, declined by 0.2 points from 52.6 for August to 52.4 for September.

It marks the 25th month of consecutive expansion of Singapore's manufacturing sector.

Meanwhile, the PMI of Singapore's electronics industry dropped from 52 to 51.4, marking the 26th month of consecutive expansion of Singapore's electronics industry.

A PMI reading of 50 and above indicates expansion, while a reading below 50 indicates contraction.

Selena Ling, head of Treasury Research & Strategy of OCBC Bank, attributed the lower PMI prints for September to lower new orders, new exports, output, order backlogs, inventory, stocks and imports. She added that the employment index rose for the manufacturing sector but fell for the electronics industry in the month.

"Overall, this reinforced our view that the uptick seen in August was temporary and not sustainable," she said. Data from SIPMM show Singapore's manufacturing PMI rose by 0.3 points to 52.6 in August, while the electronics PMI increased by 0.4 points.

According to Ling, Singapore's manufacturing and electronics growth momentum will continue to moderate for the remaining months of 2018. Thus, the bank will maintain its third-quarter GDP growth forecast at 2.3 percent year on year, and the manufacturing growth forecast at 3.9 percent year on year.