Singapore Jan factory output -0.5 pct year-over-year, better than forecast

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore's industrial production in January fell less than expected from a year earlier as output of pharmaceuticals and electronics swung to growth, data showed on Friday.

Manufacturing output fell 0.5 percent from a year earlier in January, data from the Singapore Economic Development Board showed. The median forecast in a Reuters survey was for a decline of 4.8 percent.

On a month-on-month and seasonally adjusted basis, factory output rose 9.3 percent in January. The median forecast was for a drop of 1.8 percent.

(Reporting by Jongwoo Cheon and Saeed Azhar; Editing by Sam Holmes)