Singapore's Q2 GDP growth up 3.7 pct
2013-07-12 11:49:46
Singapore's economy posted a better-than-expected performance in the second quarter (Q2) this year, up 3.7 percent year on year, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) released the advance estimates on Friday.
This is much better than the 0.2 percent growth recorded in the preceding quarter.
A survey conducted by the city-state's central bank, Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), in last month showed that private sector economists and analysts expected the Singapore economy to grow by 1.5 percent in Q2, down from 2 percent during last survey.
The median forecast for the whole year also graded down from 2. 8 percent in March survey to 2.3 percent. The MTI has said it expected the Singapore economy to grow by 1 to 3 percent this year.
According to the advance estimates on Friday, on a quarter-on- quarter seasonally-adjusted annualized basis, the economy grew by 15.2 percent, much faster than the 1.8 percent growth in the previous quarter.
In particular, the manufacturing sector performed best with a year-on-year expansion of 1.1 percent in Q2, reversing the contraction of 6.9 percent in Q1. The sector grew at an annualized rate of 37.6 percent compared with Q1. It is improved from the contraction of 12.7 percent on quarter in the preceding quarter.
"The sharp rebound largely reflected the strong growth in the output of the biomedical manufacturing and electronics clusters," the MTI said in a statement.
Driving by "a robust recovery in the wholesale and retail trade sector and the transportation and storage sector", the services producing industries grew by 5.0 percent on year, accelerating the 2.7 percent growth in Q1.
However, the construction sector grew at an annual rate of 5.6 percent, compared to 6.8 percent in the preceding quarter. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the sector expanded by an annualized rate of 9.0 percent, moderating from the 14.3 percent growth in the previous quarter.
The MAS announced early in April that it will maintain its currency policy of a modest and gradual appreciation of the local dollar against a basket of currencies. The most latest number of the city-state's inflation expansion also registered at low level of 1.6 percent in May.
Therefore, most of the market insiders said that the better- than-expected performance of the GDP growth in Q2 may reduce the pressure on the central bank to adjust its monetary policy.