Singapore GDP beats forecast with 2% Q4 growth

THE Singapore economy grew at a better-than-expected 2.0 per cent on a year-on-year basis in the last quarter of 2015, advanced estimates show, and is expected to register a full-year growth of 2.1 per cent in 2015.

The growth was a clip faster than the third quarter's 1.8 per cent, and on a quarter-on-quarter seasonally adjusted annualised basis, the economy expanded at a faster pace of 5.7 per cent compared to the 1.7 per cent growth in the preceding quarter.

These advanced estimates released by the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) on Monday morning show that growth for Q4 2015 came in stronger than expected, pulling up full-year forecasts. MTI's earlier announced GDP (gross domestic product) growth forecast was "close to 2.0 per cent".

A previous poll of 11 economists by Reuters showed that the median forecast came in at 1.3 per cent in the fourth quarter from a year earlier.

The construction and services sectors both registered growth, while manufacturing continued to contract.

The construction sector saw a 2.2 per cent year-on-year growth for Q4 2015, quickening its pace from the previous quarter's 1.1 per cent. Services-producing industries grew 3.2 per cent, slightly slower than last quarter's 3.4 per cent.

The manufacturing sector contracted by 6.0 per cent on a year-on-year basis in the fourth quarter, extending the 5.9 per cent decline in the previous quarter.

MTI will release the preliminary GDP estimates for the fourth quarter and the whole of 2015, including performance by sectors, sources of growth, inflation, employment and productivity, in its Economic Survey of Singapore in February 2016.