Manufacturing PMI surged 2.4 points in April 2011

The PMI grew more than expected to 52.5, after slipping for the last two consecutive months, said OCBC.

New orders, production output and import gauges drove the growth as all three rebounded from contraction territory to 53.9, 50.8 and 52.9 respectively.

The new export orders inde rose 4 points to 54.1, while the orders backlog also rose 2.5 points to 52.1.

The electronics PMI also grew 1.7 points to 53.0 in its fifth month of expansion, boosted by strong growth in new orders, export orders and order backlog.

"This suggests that the strong manufacturing momentum seen in Q1 may not peter out so fast, albeit the pharmaceuticals industry may again be one source of volatility," said OCBC. 

OCBC notes that the 16-month high seen in April PMI reading is an indication that the economy remains on a strong footing into the rest of the year.

According to OCBC, the sharp rise in new export orders in the electronic sector is an encouraging fact for growth perspective going forward.