Singapore Feb factory output up 8.9 percent, beats expectations

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore's industrial output grew more than expected in February thanks to a surge in semiconductor production, data showed on Monday.

Manufacturing output in February rose 8.9 percent from a year earlier, data from the Singapore Economic Development Board showed. The median forecast in a Reuters survey was for a 5.1 percent expansion.

On a month-on-month and seasonally adjusted basis, industrial production fell 0.5 percent in February. The median forecast was for a contraction of 8.4 percent.

In January, manufacturing output grew a revised 16.9 percent from a year earlier and a revised 4.7 percent on a month-on-month seasonally adjusted basis.

Electronics output grew 17.4 percent in February from a year ago. The surge was mainly attributed to the production of semiconductors, which grew 26.7 percent from the year before.

(Reporting by Fathin Ungku; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)