Manufacturing growth 'evaporated' in 2012

4 disappointing quarters in a row.

According to OCBC, manufacturing growth evaporated in 2012, registering four straight quarters of yoy contraction due to persistent electronics weakness, notwithstanding the mitigating rebound in biomedical manufacturing and transport engineering clusters. 

Manufacturing growth was just 0.1% yoy last year, after expanding 7.8% yoy in 2011. In addition, the services cluster also registered a significant slowdown from 4.6% yoy in 2011 to 1.2% in 2012, dragged down by wholesale and retail trade (-0.7%), and finance and insurance (+0.5%).

"Construction, on the other hand, accelerated from 6.3% yoy growth in 2011 to 8.2% yoy in 2012, but saw momentum ease off in Q4 2012 due to the decline in private sector building activities," OCBC said.