Singapore Q1 GDP grew 2.1% from year ago, exceeds market forecasts

The Singapore economy grew by 2.1 per cent on a year-on-year basis in the first quarter of 2015 based on advance estimates, the same rate of growth as that achieved in the previous quarter.

On a quarter-on-quarter seasonally-adjusted annualised basis, the economy expanded at a slower pace of 1.1 per cent compared to the 4.9 per cent in the preceding quarter, the Ministry of Trade and Industry said on Tuesday.

Economists had expected GDP year-on-year growth to remain flat in Q1. But quarterly growth came in ahead of market expectations of 0.1 per cent in quarter-on-quarter annualised terms.

Q1's growth is at the low end of the official 2015 forecast of 2-4 per cent growth.

The key manufacturing sector contracted by 3.4 per cent on a year-on-year basis in Q1, following the 1.3 per cent decline in the previous quarter. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the sector contracted at an annualised rate of 2.3 per cent, extending the decline of 2.5 per cent in the preceding quarter.

READ MORE: Singapore Q1 GDP: Mixed performance by key sectors