Singapore’s economy grew 1.8% in the first quarter of 2016 year-on-year, the same pace of growth as in the previous quarter, according to advance estimates by the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
Gross domestic product (GDP) growth was flat on a quarter-on-quarter seasonally adjusted annualized basis, in contrast to the 6.2% expansion in the preceding quarter.
The city state’s economy expanded 1.8% in the fourth quarter of 2015 and by 2% for the whole of 2015, the weakest annual growth since 2009.
The manufacturing sector contracted by 2.0% on a year-on-year basis in the period January-March, following the 6.7% decline in the previous quarter. The sector was primarily weighed down by a decline in the output of the transport engineering, precision engineering, and electronics clusters.
On a quarter-on-quarter seasonally adjusted annualized basis, the sector rebounded to post growth of 18.2%, compared to the 4.9% contraction in the preceding quarter.
The construction sector expanded by 6.2% year-on-year in the first quarter, an improvement from the 4.9% growth recorded in the previous quarter. The stronger growth in the sector was supported by both public and private sector construction activities.
On a quarter-on-quarter seasonally adjusted annualized basis, the sector grew by 10.2%, accelerating from the 6.0% growth in the preceding quarter.
Growth in the services producing industries came in at 1.9% on a year-on-year basis in the first quarter, easing from the 2.8% growth in the previous quarter. Growth was supported mainly by the wholesale & retail trade and finance & insurance sectors.
On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the services producing industries contracted at an annualized rate of 3.8%, a reversal from the 7.7% expansion in the preceding quarter.
Photo: See Hoy Kim
