Singapore's manufacturing output falls sharply

Singapore’s manufacturing output falls sharply

Singapore's manufacturing output unexpectedly fell 10.2% year on year in February 2005, Singapore's Economic Development Board (EDB) disclosed. Consequently, economists revised their forecasts for Singapore's economic growth sharply downward. The EDB and other analysts indicate that one of the major contributors to the decline was the fewer number of working days in February due to the Lunar New Year holiday. Manufacturing output rose only 0.5% year on year during the first two months of 2005. This figure is sharply lower than analysts' expectations of up to 10%.