Singapore GDP growth slows to 0.1% in Q2 2019

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Despite a 0.1 percent growth in the economy, it pales to the 1.1 percent growth recorded in the previous quarter. The construction and services-producing sectors saw an improvement of 2.2 and 1.2 percent respectively, while the manufacturing sector declined by 3.8 percent.

The Singapore economy grew 0.1 percent year-on-year in the second quarter, much slower than the 1.1 percent growth registered in the previous quarter, according to advanced estimates from the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI).

On a quarter-on-quarter seasonally-adjusted annualised basis, the economy contracted 3.4 percent, after recording growth of 3.8 percent previously.

The manufacturing sector continued a downward trend as it contracted 3.8 percent year-on-year in Q2 2019, after falling 0.4 percent in the preceding quarter. MTI attributed the contraction “to output declines in the electronics and precision engineering clusters, which more than offset the output expansions in the rest of the manufacturing clusters”.

On a quarter-on-quarter seasonally-adjusted annualised basis, the sector declined 6.0 percent, an improvement from the 6.4 percent contraction in the previous quarter.

The construction sector, on the other hand, extended its expansion, growing 2.2 percent year-on-year in Q2 2019, on the back of increased public sector construction activities.

On a quarter-on-quarter seasonally-adjusted annualised basis, the sector shrank 7.6 percent, after increasing 13.3 percent in the previous quarter.

The services-producing industry grew 1.2 percent year-on-year in Q2 2019, unchanged from the previous quarter. Meanwhile, it also grew by 1.5 percent on a quarter-on-quarter seasonally-adjusted annualised basis, reversing the 4.4 percent growth seen in the previous quarter.

“Growth was supported primarily by the finance & insurance, “other services industries” and information & communications sectors,” said MTI.

MTI revealed that it will release the Q2 preliminary GDP estimates, including performances by sectors, inflation, sources of growth, productivity and employment, in its Economic Survey of Singapore in August 2019.

Victor Kang, Digital Content Specialist at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact him about this or other stories, email victorkang@propertyguru.com.sg