Industrial output to report a solid 23.8% for March 2011

It will further reinforce the point about a positive output gap in Singapore. said DBS.

According to their report, despite a high base in the same period last year, industrial production growth is still expected.

In fact, according to DBS's analysts, latest advance GDP estimates for 1Q 2011 show that the manufacturing sector is expected to post a healthy expansion of 13.9% Y-o-Y. Given a fairly modest industrial output growth of about 8% between January - February 2011, output growth in March will surely be significantly stronger to deliver that average quarterly growth number.

Further to DBS's report, a strong pickup in electronics output is expected while a ramp up in pharmaceutical production cannot be discounted. DBS reckons February probably marks the bottom of the electronics cycle.