Singapore's private sector saw significant expansion in October, fueled by increasing demand and output, as reported by S&P Global. The seasonally adjusted Singapore Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) registered at 55.5, a slight decline from September’s reading of 56.6, yet it remained well above the pivotal level of 50, which distinguishes growth from contraction.
This marks the 20th consecutive month of business expansion 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," stated S&P Global. Notably, unlike other regions and nations, Singapore has a singular PMI report that encompasses both the manufacturing and service sectors. The uptick in demand led to private-sector businesses in Singapore accumulating backlogs of work, prompting them to recruit additional staff.
"To cope with higher workloads, Singaporean businesses raised their staffing levels for a sixth straight month in October," reported S&P Global. However, inflation and supply-side challenges persisted throughout October. Supply constraints intensified, resulting in elongated lead times and contributing to increased input cost inflation.
This consequently accelerated selling price inflation as well, according to S&P Global. Despite these challenges, business sentiment among enterprises in Singapore’s private sector improved significantly in October, with confidence levels exceeding the long-run average. Forward-looking indicators suggest continued business expansion through the remainder of 2024. The Singapore PMI is compiled by S&P Global from survey responses submitted by 400 private-sector companies during the period from October 10 to October 25..