Singapore’s manufacturing output grew at a sharply slower-than-expected pace in December as most segments logged tepid expansion and benefits of a lower base of comparison from last year started to wear off.
Manufacturing output grew 9% from a year earlier, according to data released by the Economic Development Board Wednesday. This is lower than the 19% median forecast of 12 analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires and also below the most pessimist forecast of 10.7% by Standard Chartered Bank.

 

In November, manufacturing output grew a revised 40.5%, faster than the preliminary estimate of 39.8% last month, the data showed. For the whole of 2010, manufacturing output expanded 29.7%.

 

Seasonally adjusted manufacturing output fell 11.8% in December from a month earlier, compared with an upwardly revised 1.8% expansion in November.

 

The median forecast of nine economists was for December output to have contracted 3.2% on month in seasonally adjusted terms.