Singapore GDP Growth Revised Up To 2.9% in Q2
The Singaporean economy expanded 2.9 percent year-on-year in the June quarter of 2017, up from 2.5 percent in the prior quarter and stronger than preliminary estimates of a 2.6 percent growth. All sectors recorded positive growth except for the construction and accommodation & food services sectors. The manufacturing sector continued be the best performing sector followed by finance & insurance and transportation & storage, final figures showed.
Year-on-year, the manufacturing sector grew by 8.1 percent, slowing from an 8.5 percent growth in the March quarter 2017 but above initial estimates of 8.0 percent. Electronics and precision engineering clusters drove the expansion, mainly due to strong global demand for semiconductors and semiconductor related equipment. The services producing industries advanced 2.4 percent, compared to a 1.4 percent rise in the prior quarter and higher than preliminary figures of 1.7 percent. Contributions primarily came from transportation & storage, finance & insurance, and "other services industries".
In contrast, the construction sector contracted by 5.7 percent, extending the 6.3 percent decline in Q1 and steeper than earlier figures of a 5.6 percent drop, due to falls in both private sector and public sector construction output.
In August 2017, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) declared that its GDP forecast for 2017 has been narrowed to "2 to 3 percent" from "1 to 3 percent", adding that GDP growth for the full year is likely to come in around 2.5 percent, barring any unexpected outcomes in the global economy and key sectors in the domestic economy for the rest of the year. The manufacturing sector is likely to remain the key support for the Singaporean economy in the second half of the year with electronics and precision engineering clusters expected to remain strong from robust global demand. Also, the external sectors such as wholesale trade, finance & insurance and transportation & storage are likely to improve from a pickup in global trade flows while the information & communications and education, health & social services sectors are expected to remain resilient.
In 2016, the economy advanced 2 percent, slightly stronger than a 1.9 percent growth in the preceding year.
On a quarterly basis, the GDP grew an annualised 2.2 percent in Q2, rebounding from an upwardly revised 2.1 percent contraction in the previous three months and above preliminary estimates of a 0.5 percent expansion. The recovery was mainly due to turnarounds in construction (+4.9 percent from -15 percent in Q1), wholesale & retail trade (+6.2 percent from -3.7 percent) and finance & insurance (+3.9 percent from -18.7 percent).
Statistics Singapore l Charles | charles@tradingeconomics.com
8/11/2017 1:44:23 AM