S'pore manufacturing index down<\/p>\n
SINGAPORE: A leading indicator of Singapore's manufacturing
\nsector declined for the first time in 12 months on weaker demand,
\nthe Singapore Institute of Purchasing and Materials Management
\n(SIPMM) said on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for March fell 0.7 points
\nover the previous month to 49.7 "on lower new orders, a
\ncontraction in new export orders, a further contraction in
\nproduction output, as well as further contraction in employment,"
\nthe SIPMM said.<\/p>\n
A reading below 50 points shows that production in the
\nisland's manufacturing industry shrank.<\/p>\n
In the electronics sector, which accounts for nearly half of
\nthe output in manufacturing, the index declined 1.4 points to
\n49.4, snapping a four-month expansion streak.<\/p>\n
Manufacturing is a crucial pillar of the Singapore economy,
\naccounting for almost a quarter of the island's gross domestic
\nproduct.<\/p>\n
The bulk of output from the sector is exported to the world's
\nmajor economies, particularly to the United States and the March
\nPMI reading will likely add to fears the island will be hit hard
\nby the fallout from the war in Iraq and a killer respiratory
\nvirus sweeping across the world. -- AFP<\/p>",
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