The latest report reveals strong growth in Singapore's private sector for October, driven by increasing demand and output. The seasonally adjusted Singapore Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) registered at 55.5, a slight decrease from September's figure of 56.6, but still well above the critical threshold of 50 that indicates expansion.
This marks the 20th consecutive month of growth for businesses in the city-state. "Incoming new orders for Singaporean goods and services expanded sharply in October, driven by improvements in underlying demand conditions and successive business development efforts," emphasized the report. In a unique approach for the region, S&P Global combines the manufacturing and services sectors into a single PMI report for Singapore, reflecting the interconnectedness of these industries.
The rise in demand has led to an increase in backlogs, prompting companies to seek additional employees. "To cope with higher workloads, Singaporean businesses raised their staffing levels for a sixth straight month in October," the report stated. However, challenges remain as inflation and supply-side issues persist.
"Supply constraints worsened as lead times lengthened at an accelerated rate, contributing to higher input cost inflation. Selling price inflation also quickened as a result," the report noted. Despite these challenges, business sentiment within the private sector showed significant improvement in October, with confidence levels well above long-term averages.
Forward-looking indicators suggest continued business expansion throughout the remainder of 2024. The Singapore PMI was compiled from survey responses gathered from 400 private sector companies between October 10 and October 25..