Singapore economy shrinks by a worse-than-expected 0.6%

Manufacturing also dropped 11.3%.

OCBC said that according to advance estimates from the MTI, the Singapore economy contracted by 0.6% YoY in 1Q13, lower than the street’s expectations of zero growth and also worse than the 1.5% growth seen in 4Q12. 

On a seasonally adjusted, annualised basis, the economy contracted by 1.4% QoQ, compared to the 3.3% growth in 4Q12. Manufacturing contracted by 11.3% QoQ, vs a 3.1% growth in 4Q12, largely due to lower output in the biomedical manufacturing cluster.

Here's more from OCBC:

Construction grew by 15.1%, compared to 4Q12’s 3.9% negative growth. Services continued to expand by 1.8% after 4Q12’s 2.5% rise. Meanwhile, MAS has announced no change to the slope and width of the S$NEER policy band, as well as the level at which it is centred. 

This is assessed to be appropriate for containing inflationary pressures.