By Fabiana Negrin Ochoa
SINGAPORE–A key indicator of Singapore’s manufacturing activity showed a slower contraction in August, as key indexes including new orders and new exports shrank at a slower pace, and factory output swung to an expansion, according to the Singapore Institute of Purchasing and Materials Management.
The city-state’s purchasing managers index improved to 49.9 in August from 49.8 in July but remained just below the 50 mark separating expansion from contraction, a release on Saturday showed. The reading was the gauge’s sixth straight month in contractionary territory. It was last at the neutral 50 mark in February, but has been rising steadily since May.
SIPMM executive director Stephen Poh said the improved PMI prints in recent months signal that manufacturing could be starting to recover, even amid an uncertain macroeconomic and geopolitical environment.
“The August PMI readings pointed to a silver lining in the overall manufacturing sector,” continuing the trend of slower contraction that has been emerging since May, he said.
The PMI for electronics, which accounts for about a third of Singapore’s manufacturing, improved to 49.5 in August from 49.3 in July, the SIPMM figures showed. The latest print lengthened the sector’s run of contractions to a 13th straight month.
Write to Fabiana Negrin Ochoa at fabiana.negrinochoa@wsj.com
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