SINGAPORE — Singapore’s economy grew by a meager 0.1 per cent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2019, missing expectations and slowing from the previous quarter as the manufacturing sector weakened further, according to advance estimates released by the Ministry of Trade and Industry on Friday (July 12).

The second-quarter flash estimate, which is computed largely from data gathered in the first two months of the quarter, came in way below the 1.1 per cent growth in the first three months of 2019. It also missed the 1.1 per cent expected by economists in a Reuters poll.

On a quarter-on-quarter seasonally adjusted annualised basis, Singapore’s gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by 3.4 per cent, way below the median forecast of 0.1 per cent in the Reuters poll and a reversal from the 3.8 per cent growth in the previous quarter. 

Manufacturing, which accounts for about one-fifth of the economy, contracted by 3.8 per cent on a year-on-year basis in the second quarter, extending the 0.4 per cent decline in the previous quarter.

On the other hand, the construction sector grew by 2.2 per cent on a year-on-year basis in the second quarter, extending the 2.7 per cent expansion in the previous quarter. 

The services producing industries expanded by 1.2 per cent on a year-on-year basis in the second quarter, unchanged from the previous quarter.

For the full year, MTI expects GDP growth to come in between 1.5 and 2.5 per cent, though that forecast range will be revised next month following a string of disappointing economic indicators.

Non-oil domestic exports logged double-digit declines for the third straight month in May. The purchasing managers’ index, a key barometer of activity in the manufacturing industry, contracted for the second consecutive month in June.

As a protracted trade conflict between the United States and China weighs down on global manufacturing, trade and investment, central bank chief Ravi Menon has said that Singapore’s growth for 2019 “is likely to be weaker than earlier envisaged”. CNA

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