Singapore economy grows 2.5 % y-o-y in Q2

SINGAPORE'S economy grew 2.5 per cent compared to a year ago in the second quarter of 2017, based on advance estimates of gross domestic product (GDP) released by the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) on Friday.

The latest print was lower than market consensus and was the same pace of growth clocked in the previous quarter, which was revised down from 2.7 per cent.

Private sector economists polled by Bloomberg prior to the data release had a median growth forecast of 2.7 per cent year-on-year.

On quarter-on-quarter annualised basis, MTI said that overall GDP expanded by a seasonally adjusted 0.4 per cent - a reversal from the 1.9 per cent contraction in the preceding quarter.

The manufacturing sector expanded by 8 per cent on a year-on-year basis in the second quarter, extending the 8.5 per cent growth in the previous quarter, bolstered by the electronics and precision engineering clusters.

The services producing industries grew by 1.7 per cent on a year-on-year basis in the second quarter, faster than the 1.4 per cent growth in the previous quarter, supported primarily by the transportation & storage and business services sectors.