Trade data corrections factored into advance GDP estimates: MTI

[SINGAPORE] Corrections to error-skewed trade data for September and October 2013 will not affect the advance GDP estimates released on Jan 3, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said yesterday.

That is because changes to both months' trade figures had been accounted for by Jan 3 and factored into the GDP estimates, even though the errors and revisions were made public only last Friday.

MTI's comments yesterday came in response to an article in last Saturday's edition of BT, which reported that flawed data collection had skewed trade numbers for September and October 2013, with possible implications for Q4 GDP estimates.