* PMI pulls back to lowest reading since April
* Manufacturing sector still expanding... but only just
* New export orders index contracts after 4 months of growth
* Electronics reading lowest since April
SINGAPORE, Oct 5 (Reuters) - Singapore Institute of Purchasing & Materials Management released on Monday the purchasing managers' index, a leading indicator for manufacturing: Purchasing Managers' Index and components:
Sept Aug July June May April March Feb Jan PMI 50.6 54.4 51.5 51.1 51.2 49.2 47.1 45.0 45.0 Electronics
Sept Aug July June May April March Feb Jan
52.4 55.2 55.0 55.0 52.9 51.6 48.8 43.8 43.6 New Export orders
Sept Aug July June May April March Feb Jan
49.5 53.1 50.5 50.9 50.3 48.6 46.1 43.4 41.6
CONTEXT
* The September PMI, released a week ahead of Singapore's preliminary third-quarter GDP data, shows that manufacturing has expanded for the fifth month, but the recovery may be patchy.
* A contraction in new export orders and slower growth in new orders weighed on the headline index. Production output and stocks continued to expand but at a slower rate.
* The electronics industry expanded for the 6th month, though the decline in the PMI came from slower growth in new orders from both domestic and overseas markets.
* A reading above 50 indicates the manufacturing industry is expanding, while a figure below 50 signals contraction.
* August non-oil domestic exports fell 7.1 percent from a year earlier, marking the 16th straight month of annual contraction but the smallest fall in a year.
* Singapore was the first Asian country to declare it fell into recession last year, but the economy pulled out of the slump when it grew a blistering 20.7 percent in the second quarter on an annualised and seasonally adjusted basis.
(Reporting by Neil Chatterjee; Editing by Neil Fullick)