Singapore economy grew 1.4% from a year ago in Q3

SINGAPORE'S economy performed slightly better than market's expectations in the third quarter, with the gross domestic product (GDP) growing by 1.4 per cent from a year ago, according to preliminary estimates released by the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) on Wednesday.

It also narrowly avoided a technical recession. On a quarter-on-quarter seasonally-adjusted annualised basis, the economy expanded by 0.1 per cent, a reversal from the 2.5 per cent contraction in the preceding quarter.

Private-sector economists polled by Bloomberg prior to the data release had a median growth forecast of 1.3 per cent year-on-year, and a contraction of 0.1 per cent quarter-on-quarter.

The manufacturing sector contracted by 6.0 per cent on a year-on-year basis in the third quarter, extending the 4.9 per cent decline in the previous quart.

The construction sector expanded by 1.6 per cent on a year-on-year basis i the third quarter, moderating from the 2.0 per cent growth recorded in the previous quarter. The slowdown was mainly due to weaker private sector construction activities. On a quarter-on-quarter seasonally-adjusted annualisedbasis, the sector contracted by 0.8 per cent, a reversal from the 12.4 per cent expansion in the preceding quarter.

Growth in the services producing industries came in at 3.0 per cent on a yearon-year basis in the third quarter, slower than the 3.6 per cent growth in the previous quarter. The moderation in growth was largely due to a slower pace of expansion in the wholesale & retail trade and finance & insurance sectors.

MTI will release the preliminary GDP estimates for the third quarter, including performance by sectors, sources of growth, inflation, employment and productivity, in its Economic Survey of Singapore in November 2015.