SINGAPORE (Sept 25): Singapore’s factory output snapped out of a three-month losing streak with a 13.7% year-on-year (y-o-y) expansion in August. This followed a strong growth in semiconductor production and demand for biomedical products. 

Excluding the biomedical cluster, the increase in output widened to 15.3%, according to data released by Singapore’s Economic Development Board (EDB), a government agency under the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI).

August’s rebound came as a surprise as July’s 8.4% plunge was noted as Singapore’s worst y-o-y performance on record since 1983. It was also a stronger performance than the 4.6% expansion forecast by economists in a Reuters poll ... (click on link for full story on theedgesingapore.com).