Manufacturing up for second straight month

Singapore - The manufacturing sector rose for the second consecutive month in July, boosted by new orders from the domestic market.

The Singapore Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) is taken as a general indication of the manufacturing economy, with a reading above 50 points indicating general growth. The July PMI reading was at 51.6, an increase over one point over the previous month.

According to the Singapore Institute of Purchasing & Materials Management (SIPMM), which carried out the survey, the higher reading was a result of increased new orders from the domestic market and higher levels of production output and inventory.

The electronics sector however, saw a dip of 0.6 points over June to register a reading of 51.1 in July. While stocks of finished goods continued to accumulate for the second consecutive month, input prices and employment indices recorded first-time contractions, SIPMM said.