Post Reply
61-80 of 438
v
| Wednesday August 2, 9:30 PM |  |
Singapore's July PMI growth at 3-month lowBy Mia Shanley | |
SINGAPORE, Aug 2 (Reuters) - A key gauge of Singapore's manufacturing sector fell to its lowest level in three months, showing overall expansion in the sector moderated as new orders and new export orders fell, according to a report on Wednesday.
The Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), which measures the performance of Singapore's important manufacturing sector, fell 1.7 points to 51.0 in July, from a reading of 52.7 in June, the Singapore Institute of Purchasing & Materials Management said.
A reading above 50 level indicates that manufacturing is generally expanding.
However, the electronics index rose 1.9 points to 50.1, recovering slightly from June when the sector index had its sharpest contraction since November 2001.
Analysts said double-digit declines in hard disk drive production have weighed on Singapore's electronics output and sparked some consolidation in the sector.
"Electronics PMI rebounded, but not by much," said Leslie Khoo, an economist at Forecast Ltd. "In recent months, there have been a lot of hard disk drive manufacturers shifting out of Singapore, and that is dragging on the recovery."
Maxtor Corp. shut plants following its acquisition by Seagate Technology , which also announced that it would be moving some of its production facilities to China.
Singapore's new orders index showed a reading of 51.3, slowing sharply from the 55.2 expansion in June, while the production index had a reading of 50.9, down from 54.0 in June.
A government survey released this week showed Singapore manufacturers remained positive about business prospects in the second half of the year.
Overall, a net weighted 26 percent of manufacturers polled in June and July said they expected an improved business environment. The survey showed a net weighted balance of 45 percent of electronics manufacturers expected business to improve in the six-month period, up from 36 percent in the last survey.
Economists also said that year-end demand for high-tech goods such as Microsoft's XBox 360 console, personal computers and digital cameras could lift the index in the months ahead.
Singapore's electronics sector makes up more than one third of the city-state's manufacturing output and about half of the country's non-oil domestic exports.
Purchasing Managers' Index and components: