SINGAPORE- Singapore’s industrial output beat forecasts to rise 24.2 percent year-on-year in September, its fastest pace in nine years, boosted by pharmaceutical manufacturing more than doubling during the month, official data showed.
Economists had expected a 2.5 percent increase, according to the median of their forecasts in a Reuters poll. The rise was the biggest since December 2011.
On a month-on-month and seasonally adjusted basis, industrial production increased 10.1 percent in September, data from the Singapore Economic Deve lopment Boa rd showed.
Economists had expected a 7.8 percent decline.
Pharmaceutical output g rew 113.6 percent on year with higher output of active pharmaceutical ingredients and biological products.
Electronics output grew 30.1 percent led by the semiconductors segment.
