FX.co ★ Singapore Manufacturing Output Shrinks More than Expected

In August 2025, Singapore's manufacturing production experienced a downturn of 7.8% year-on-year, following an upward revision of a 7.7% gain the previous month. This was the first decline since June 2024 and was significantly more pronounced than the market's expectation of a 2.5% decrease. The electronics sector, which had previously seen substantial growth, fell by 4.8% after a 14.7% increase in July, primarily due to setbacks in semiconductors and computers. The biomedical sector also saw a considerable decline of 37.3%, compared to a meager growth of 0.2% the month before, largely due to decreased pharmaceutical production. Precision engineering struggled with a 1.7% drop, following a 9.7% rise, impacted by reduced machinery output. General manufacturing contracted by 13.9%, a sharper decline than July's 9.7%, with all sectors posting losses. Chemical output decelerated to 3.5% from 4.2%, mainly because of a downturn in petroleum. Conversely, transport engineering improved, with an 18.9% rise, up from 15.7%, driven by the aerospace sector's growth. On a month-to-month, seasonally adjusted basis, output plummeted by 9.7%, marking the steepest drop in 17 months, following an 8.8% increase in June.