SINGAPORE, NOV 25, 2015:

Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) expects the republic’s economy to grow by close to 2.0% in 2015, and by 1.0 to 3.0% in 2016.

It said the Singapore economy grew by 1.9% on a year-on-year basis in the third quarter, marginally lower than the 2.0% growth in the previous quarter.

On a quarter-on-quarter seasonally-adjusted annualised basis, the economy expanded by 1.9%, a reversal from the 2.6% contraction in the second quarter.

MTI said the manufacturing sector contracted by 6.2% year-on-year, extending the 4.8% decline in the preceding quarter.
The contraction was primarily due to a fall in the output of the transport, engineering, electronics and precision engineering clusters.

On a quarter-on-quarter seasonally-adjusted annualised basis, the sector contracted at a slower pace of 4.6%, compared to the 17% decline in the second quarter.

Growth in the construction sector eased to 1.6% year-on-year, from 2.2% in the previous quarter. This was mainly due to weak public sector construction activities.

On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the sector contracted at a seasonally-adjusted annualised rate of 1.6%, a reversal from the 13% growth in the preceding quarter.

The wholesale & retail trade sector grew by 6.8% year-on-year, faster than the 6.0% growth in the second quarter.

The pick-up in growth was due to the stronger performance of the wholesale trade segment. On a quarter-on-quarter seasonally-adjusted annualised basis, the sector expanded by 5.3%, accelerating from the 1.1% growth in
the previous quarter.

Growth in the transportation & storage sectors improved to 0.3% year-on-year, compared to the 1.0% contraction in the second quarter. Growth was supported by the air and land transport segments.

On a quarter-on-quarter seasonally-adjusted annualised basis, the sector recorded growth of 5.9%, reversing the 10% decline in the previous quarter.

The accommodation & food services sector grew by 0.9% year-on-year, an improvement from the 0.9% decline in the preceding quarter.

Growth was supported by the accommodation segment, which saw better performance on the back of a recovery in visitor arrivals.
On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the sector expanded at a seasonally-adjusted annualised rate of 12%, a sharp turnaround from the 2.4% decline in the second quarter.