Singapore: Manufacturing PMI inches up in December

The manufacturing PMI produced by the Singapore Institute of Purchasing & Materials Management (SIPMM) inched up from 49.2 in November to 49.5 in December, marking a five-month high. However, the index remains below the 50-threshold that separates contraction from expansion in the manufacturing sector.

December’s result reflected improvements in seven of the nine sub-components that comprise the index, including stocks of purchases and input prices, which more than offset a fall in finished goods.

However, the electronics PMI ticked down from 49.0 in November to 48.9 in December, thus falling further below the 50-threshold.

Met the why particular Consensus Forecast panelists expect manufacturing output to grow 3.0% in 2016, which is down 2.0 percentage points from last month’s forecast. For 2017, the panel sees manufacturing output expanding 1.4%.