Singapore’s gross domestic product expanded a seasonally adjusted, annualized 5.7 percent on quarter in the fourth quarter of 2015, the Ministry of Trade and Industry said in Monday’s advance estimate.
That was up sharply from the downwardly revised 1.7 percent growth in the third quarter (originally 1.9 percent).
On a yearly basis, GDP expanded 2.0 percent in the fourth quarter, up from the downwardly revised 1.8 percent gain in the three months prior (originally 1.9 percent).
For all of 2015, Singapore’s economy grew 2.1 percent on year – in line with the MTI’s growth forecast of close to 2.0 percent.
The manufacturing sector contracted 6.0 percent on year, extending the 5.9 percent decline in the previous quarter. The sector was primarily weighed down by a decline in the output of the electronics, transport engineering and precision engineering clusters. On a quarterly basis, the sector contracted at an annualized rate of 3.1 percent, following the 3.5 percent contraction in the preceding quarter.
The construction sector expanded 2.2 percent on year in the fourth quarter, an improvement from the 1.1 percent growth in the previous quarter. Growth was supported by a pick-up in public sector construction activities. On a quarterly basis, the sector expanded 7.0 percent, a reversal from the 4.9 percent contraction in the preceding quarter.
Growth in the services producing industries came in at 3.2 percent on year in the fourth quarter, easing slightly from the 3.4 percent growth in the previous quarter. Growth was supported mainly by the wholesale and retail trade and finance & insurance sectors. On a quarterly basis, the services producing industries expanded at an annualized rate of 6.5 percent, an improvement from the 2.9 percent expansion in the preceding quarter.
The material has been provided by InstaForex Company – www.instaforex.com