Singapore factory production down 12.8pc in May

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SINGAPORE, June 26 (AFP): Singapore's industrial production in May slumped by a much-bigger-than-expected 12.8 per cent from a year ago, pulled down by a 55.1-per cent drop in biomedical output, the government said today.

Analysts had projected a fall of 2.5 per cent for May.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, industrial output last month fell 5.7 per cent from April, the Economic Development Board (EDB) said in its monthly report.

"Production in May dropped 12.8 per cent compared to the same month last year, largely due to a contraction in the biomedical manufacturing cluster," said the EDB.

The sharp plunge in biomedical output was due mainly to the pharmaceuticals segment, which shrank 58.2 per cent because a different batch of ingredients was produced, it said.