Singapore's Q2 GDP up 2.2% from a year ago

Singapore's gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 2.2 per cent from a year ago in the second quarter of 2016 based on advance estimates, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said on Thursday.

This is in line with analysts' expectations and is marginally higher than the 2.1 per cent growth in the previous quarter. On a quarter-on-quarter seasonally-adjusted annualised basis, the economy expanded by 0.8 per cent, faster than the 0.2 per cent growth in the preceding quarter.

The manufacturing sector expanded by 0.8 per cent in Q2 from a year ago - a swing from the 0.5 per cent decline in Q1 2016. An increase in the output of the biomedical manufacturing and electronics clusters boosted growth. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the sector grew at an annualised rate of 0.3 per cent, following the 18.4 per cent growth in the preceding quarter.

The construction sector grew by 2.7 per cent, easing from the 4.5 per cent growth recorded in the previous quarter due to a slowdown in private sector construction activities. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the sector expanded at an annualised rate of 0.6 per cent, lower than the 3.5 per cent expansion in the preceding quarter.

The services producing sector was stable at 1.7 per cent, underpinned by growth in the wholesale & retail trade and transportation & storage sectors. Within the retail trade sector, growth was supported by strong motor vehicle sales. On a quarter-on-quarter seasonally-adjusted annualised basis, the services producing industries grew by 0.5 per cent, reversing the 4.8 per cent contraction in the preceding quarter.

MTI will release the preliminary GDP estimates for the second quarter, including performance by sectors, sources of growth, inflation, employment and productivity, in its Economic Survey of Singapore in August 2016.