Three-year high: Singapore’s October PMI surged to 51.9

The electronics sector is expanding too.

Singapore's manufacturing activity expanded at the fastest pace in 3 1/2 years in October on a rise in new orders and new export orders, a survey showed on Tuesday.

According to a report by Reuters, the Singapore Institute of Purchasing & Materials Management's Purchasing Managers' index (PMI) rose to 51.9 in October, the highest since April 2011. That compared with 50.5 in September.

A reading above 50 indicates that activity is generally expanding, while one below that points to a contraction.
Rents for industrial properties remained unchanged in Q3. Monthly rents of factory and warehouse units stand at $2 per sq ft, while high-tech unit rents stayed at at S$3.00 per sq ft per month.

"The increase in the overall PMI was attributed to further expansion in new orders and new export orders, production output and stockholdings of finished goods," the SIPMM said in a statement.

Here’s more from Reuters and the SIPMM:

The PMI for the electronics sector rose to 52.5 in October from 51.9 in September.

That indicated growth in new orders from both domestic and overseas markets, the institute said.

The growth in factory activity came as U.S. manufacturing expanded far more briskly than estimated last month.

Still, manufacturing sectors in other Asian countries expanded slowly, with activity in China at a five-month low.
Factory activity in South Korea and Indonesia contracted.