Singapore  - Singapore's ailing economy faced another setback as manufacturing output plunged 33.9 per cent year-to-year in March, according to data released by the Economic Development Board on Friday.

The city-state's slump in factory output reached a record in March, local media reported.

The March numbers were even worse than the drop of 15.1 per cent in February and the contraction of 27.6 per cent in January.

Amid a collapse in export demand due to the global economic crisis Singapore's industrial output of electronics slumped 34.6 per cent in March from a year ago, while drugs production declined by 54.8 per cent, the board said.

In the first three months of 2009 Singapore's factory output fell by 26.1 per cent compared to the same period last year.

Singapore faces its worst recession since independence from Malaysia in 1965. The city state highly depends on exports.

The government expects the economy to shrink 6 to 9 per cent this year. (dpa)