PMI grows for fourth-straight month in October

It edged up 0.2 point to record a 50.5 expansion, its highest since March 2019.

The Singapore Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) recorded its fourth straight month of expansion in October and its highest reading since March 2019, indicating ongoing recovery in the overall manufacturing sector, according to data released by the Singapore Institute of Purchasing & Materials Management (SIPMM).

PMI edged up 0.2 point from the previous month to record a faster expansion at 50.5. This marks the highest reading since March last year when the reading was 50.8.

The continued improvement was attributed to faster expansion rates in the indexes of new orders, new exports, and factory output, said SIPMM, noting that the inventory index recorded slower rate of expansion whereas the indexes of both employment and supplier deliveries recorded slower rates of contraction.

The indexes of finished goods, imports, input prices, and order backlog, all posted slightly faster rates of expansion, they added.

On the downside, the overall employment index has now recorded contractions for 9 consecutive months.

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Meanwhile, the electronics sector PMI also improved marginally with   0.1point increase compared from the previous month to record an expansion at 51. This is the third month of expansion for the electronics sector and is its highest reading since September 2018 when the reading was 51.4, according to SIPMM.

The latest sector reading was attributed to faster expansion rates for the indexes of new orders, new exports, and factory output.

The electronics employment index has also shown a trend towards slower contractions when it first recorded contraction in February this year. SIPMM noted that the latest reading of 49.8 suggested that the electronics employment index could possibly hit the bottom and trend towards an expansion.