Singapore’s economy grew by 2.5 per cent in the second quarter; up from a year ago and buoyed by the growth in manufacturing and services sector. It is the same pace of growth as the previous quarter, according to advance estimates released by the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) today.
On a quarter-on-quarter seasonally adjusted annualised basis, the economy expanded by 0.4 per cent, in contrast to the 1.9 per cent contraction in the preceding quarter.
Issuing a press statement, MTI said, “The manufacturing sector expanded by 8.0 per cent on a year-on-year basis in the second quarter, extending the 8.5 per cent growth in the previous quarter. Growth was supported mainly by the electronics and precision engineering clusters, which saw robust expansions on the back of strong external demand for semiconductors and semiconductor manufacturing equipment respectively. On a quarter-on-quarter seasonally-adjusted annualised basis, the sector grew by 2.4 per cent, an improvement from the 0.4 per cent growth in the preceding quarter.”
However, the construction sector contracted by 5.6 per cent on a year-on-year basis in the second quarter, following the 6.1 per cent decline in the previous quarter.
The construction sector performed badly due to weakness in both private sector and public sector construction activities. On a quarter-on-quarter seasonally-adjusted annualised basis, the sector rebounded to grow by 4.3 per cent, compared to the 14.4 per cent contraction in the preceding quarter.
MTI further said, “The services producing industries grew by 1.7 per cent on a year-on-year basis in the second quarter, faster than the 1.4 per cent growth in the previous quarter. Growth was supported primarily by the transportation & storage and business services sectors. On a quarter-on-quarter seasonally-adjusted annualised basis, the services producing industries expanded by 0.4 per cent, a reversal from the 2.7 per cent contraction in the preceding quarter.”
MTI will release the preliminary GDP estimates for the second quarter, including performance by sectors, sources of growth, inflation, employment and productivity, in its Economic Survey of Singapore in August 2017.