Singapore economy eases to a 2.5% growth in Q1

Manufacturing moderates from an 11.5% expansion.

The latest advanced estimates by the Ministry of Trade and Industry showed that Singapore's gross domestic product grew by 2.5% YoY, easing from the 2.9% YoY growth in the previous quarter.

The manufacturing sector expanded by 6.6%, down from its 11.5% growth in the previous quarter. The growth was supported primarily by robust output expansions in the electronics and precision engineering clusters, which outweighed output declines in the biomedical manufacturing, transport engineering, and general manufacturing clusters.

Meanwhile, the construction sector contracted by 1.1%, extending its 2.8% decline in the previous quarter. The sector was weighed down by a slowdown in private sector construction activities.

For services-producing industries, expansion came at 1.5%, an improvement from a 1% growth. This was supported by the wholesale retail trade and transportation & storage sectors, which were in turn bolstered by a continued recovery in exports.

On a QoQ basis, the economy contracted by 1.9% after posting a strong rebound of 12.3% in the preceding quarter