Singapore (VNA) – Singapore’s Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) declined 3.3 points to 45.4 in March, the lowest level since 2009, said the Singapore Institute ofPurchasing and Materials Management (SIPMM).

It was thesecond contraction in a row and the lowest reading since February 2009 when theindex was at 45 points, SIPMM said in a statement on April 3.

Theelectronics sector’s PMI fell 3.5 points from February to 44.1, which was also the lowest readingsince February 2009 and the second month of contraction. The electronic factoryoutput index slipped to 40.9, its lowest point since December 2008.

The MarchPMI data for both overall manufacturing and electronics showed fastercontractions for key indicators including new orders, new exports, factoryoutput, employment, and supplier deliveries, SIPMM said.

TheSingapore PMI report comes after advance GDP growth estimates show that theeconomy may have shrunk 2.2 percent year on year in the first three months of2020 - the biggest contraction since 2009.

The firstquarter slide in growth prompted the Ministry of Trade and Industry to cut itsfull-year GDP growth forecast to -4.0 to -1.0 percent, from an earlier downgradedestimate of -0.5 to 1.5 percent.

Ms SophiaPoh, SIPMM's vice-president for industry engagement and  development, said the COVID-19 pandemic has greatly impacted themanufacturing sector as companies struggle to contain financial losses fromsharp revenue reductions.

SingaporePMI is in line with reports from around the region this week showing almost allpurchasing managers indexes falling further below 50, the dividing line betweencontraction and expansion, according to data released by IHS Markit on April 1./.