Singapore factory output beats forecasts with 3.8% rise in February

SINGAPORE – Singapore's factory output extended its expansion in February, growing 3.8 per cent year on year and beating analysts' expectations. This topped the 0.5 per cent growth forecast made by economists in a Bloomberg poll. Excluding the more volatile biomedical industry, output increased by 1.4 per cent in February. However, January's growth was revised lower to 0.6 per cent from an earlier estimate of 1.1 per cent, the figures from the Economic Development Board showed. Bright spots in February include a slim 2.6 per cent increase in output by the key electronics industry, after it shrank 4.7 per cent…