Singapore's GDP growth hits three-year high at 5.2% in Q3

The manufacturing sector's 18.4% expansion was the main growth driver.

The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) announced that Singapore's economy grew 5.2% YoY in Q3 whilst the forecast for GDP growth has been raised to 3-3.5%.

The manufacturing sector led the country's economic growth at 18.4%, much faster than the 8.4% growth in Q2.

All clusters within the sector expanded, except the transport engineering cluster, which continued to decline output on the back of sustained weakness in the marine & offshore engineering segment.

Meanwhile, the construction sector shrank by 7.6% YoY, extending the 9.1% decline in Q2. It was caused by weakness in both private and public construction activities.

The wholesale & retail trade sector grew 2.2% YoY, slightly up from the 2.1% growth last quarter. Growth was driven mainly by the wholesale trade segment, in line with the growth of non-oil exports.

The growth of the transportation & storage sector accelerated at 4.6% YoY from Q2's 3.4% growth. Water transport and air segments saw improvements in sea cargo and air passengers handled, respectively.

The accommodation & food services sector contracted by 2.1% YoY, extending the 2.0% contraction in the preceding quarter. Growth was weighed down by both the accommodation and food services segments.

Growth in the information & communications sector came in at 4.9% YoY, thanks to the IT & information services segment, which benefited from the healthy demand for IT solutions.

Robust growth in financial intermediation, insurance and fund management activities, as well as a turnaround in forex trading volumes, boosted growth in the finance & insurance sector to 5.9% YoY.

The business services sector recorded growth of 1.4% YoY. Growth was supported by the professional services and others segments, even as the real estate segment continued to contract.

The “other services industries” also expanded by 2% YoY, albeit slower than the 3.2% last quarter. Growth was mainly supported by the education, health & social services and the arts, entertainment & recreation segments.