SINGAPORE'S July factory output unexpectedly fell 1.8 per cent after seasonal adjustments from June, as the economic slowdown in the United States and Europe continues to hit Asian exporters.

Six economists had forecast output would rise a seasonally adjusted 5.9 per cent in July from June.

The monthly manufacturing data follows a rise of 4.4 per cent in June, revised from a rise of 4.5 per cent, and a 6.2 per cent decline in May.

From a year earlier, factory output in July slumped 21.9 per cent, the Economic Development Board said in a statement, compared with a market forecast for a 17.1 per cent drop.

Manufacturing accounted for about a quarter of Singapore's $229 billion (US$162 billion) trade-dependent economy in 2007. -- REUTERS