Singapore's factory production hits strongest reading in 2 years

It rose 0.8pt to 51.1.

According to CIMB, manufacturing in 2Q13 was on a firmer footing, if the latest PMI from the Singapore Institute of Purchasing and Material Management is any guide.

Factory production, as measured by the monthly PMI, rose 0.8 pt to 51.1, its strongest reading in two years. May’s PMI lifted the average Apr/May 13 reading to 50.7 from 1Q13’s 50.1 and Apr/May 12’s 50.1.

Here's more from CIMB:

The firmer PMI last month was led by new overall orders (+1.6 pts to 53.1), especially new export orders (+2.3 pts to 52.9), both at 2-year highs.

Another surprise was a rise in employment, +2.0 pts to a 2-year high of 51.6, perhaps tied to better order flows. But owing to fewer working days (Labour Day and Vesak Day), output dipped 0.4 pt mom last month to 49.8, its first month of contraction after two months of modest expansion.

The uptick in orders and orders-to-finished-goods ratio of 1.04x over Apr/May 13 (1.01x in 1Q13) presage improvements in output in Jun.