Singapore’s manufacturing contracts for 5th straight month in November

So is this the start of the economy’s downhill trend?

It may not be so as stock holdings of finished goods and input prices reverted to expansion after having contracted in the previous month.

The November reading of the Singapore Purchasing Managers’ Index indicated that the manufacturing economy contracted for the 5th time after having previously recorded 9 months of continuous expansion, according to the Singapore Institute of Purchasing & Materials Management. The PMI posted a reading of 48.7, which was a dip of 0.8 point over the previous month.

The dip in the overall PMI was attributed to a further decline in new orders and new export orders. Inventory, imports as well as employment continued to contract. Whilst production output contracted for the first time, stock holdings of finished goods and input prices reverted to expansion after having contracted in the previous month.

The electronics sector recorded further expansion at 50.9, which was a decline of 1.2 points over the previous month. The electronics sector continued to expand for the 2nd consecutive month. The readings indicated a decline in new orders from the domestic and overseas markets. Whilst stockholdings of finished goods reverted to expansion, employment reverted to contraction in the electronics sector. Inventory and imports continued to contract. However, production output and input prices continued to expand and posted higher readings.