SINGAPORE - Factory activity shrank for the 12th straight month in June as the lacklustre global economy continued to weigh on Singapore's beleaguered manufacturing sector.

Elsewhere in the region, manufacturing experienced a small lift in some economies but analysts say the uptick will be short-lived and long-term prospects remain anaemic.

Singapore's Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) - an early indicator of manufacturing activity - came in at 49.6 last month, up slightly from May's 49.8 reading.

A reading below 50 indicates contraction.

The decline came as domestic and export orders shrank alongside declines in employment and production.

The data is compiled by the Singapore Institute of Purchasing and Materials Management, from a monthly poll of purchasing executives at about 150 industrial companies.

Manufacturing, which makes up a fifth of the economy, has been hit hard by tepid global growth and ongoing restructuring. The industry has been in recession for more than a year, according to some economists.

Manufacturing showed tentative signs of life elsewhere in the world. Key data in the United States showed positive signs, while South Korea and Taiwan - Asia's industrial bellwethers - logged expansionary PMI readings for June.

China's official manufacturing PMI edged down in June to reach 50, from 50.1 logged in May and April.

A separate private survey of China's manufacturing activity - the Caixin Manufacturing PMI - fell to 48.6 in June, compared with 49.2 in May.