SINGAPORE, July 26 — Factory output fell in June – bucking gains over the previous three months – due to weakness in the pharmaceuticals and petrochemicals sectors.

Industrial production decreased 0.3 per cent year-on-year in June compared to a 0.8 per cent rise in May and April’s 2.8 per cent gain, data from the Economic Development Board (EDB) showed today (July 26). On a seasonally adjusted month-month basis, manufacturing output decreased 2.5 per cent last month from May.

The weakness in June was largely in line with expectations, with a Reuters poll of 10 economists giving a median estimate of a 0.2 per cent contraction year-on-year for June and a 2.5 per cent contraction month-on-month.

This was the first contraction since February, when output shrank 3.5 per cent.

The contraction in June manufacturing output is also reflective of the weaker trade numbers for that month.

Last week, data from trade agency International Enterprise (IE) Singapore showed that the Republic’s non-oil domestic exports fell 2.3 per cent year-on-year in June, reversing the 11.6 per cent growth seen in May.

The decline was broad-based across electronic and non-electronic products. In terms of geography, the top contributors to the decline were China and the European Union. ― TODAY