The Singapore economy outperformed as expected, putting growth by 1.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2016, as per a release by the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI).
The construction sector contracted by 2.8 percent on a year-on-year basis in the fourth quarter, extending the 0.2 percent decline in the previous quarter. The contraction was largely due to the decline in private sector construction activities.
On a quarter-on-quarter seasonally adjusted annualised basis, the sector shrank by 4.7 percent, moderating from the 14.8 per cent contraction in the preceding quarter.
The manufacturing sector expanded by 6.5 per cent on a year-on-year basis in the fourth quarter, an improvement from the 1.7 percent growth in the previous quarter. Growth was primarily driven by the electronics and biomedical manufacturing clusters, even as the transport engineering and general manufacturing clusters continued to contract.
On a quarter-on-quarter seasonally adjusted annualised basis, the sector grew by 14.6 percent, a sharp turnaround from the 8.1 percent contraction in the third quarter.
Growth in the services producing industries came in at 0.6 percent on a year-on-year basis in the fourth quarter, slightly faster than the 0.3 percent growth in the previous quarter. Growth was supported by the “other services industries”, transportation & storage and business services sectors.
On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the services producing industries expanded at an annualised rate of 9.4 percent, a reversal from the 0.4 percent contraction in the third quarter.