Despite a milder contraction in manufacturing, Singapore’s third-quarter growth signals gradual recovery.
Singapore’s economy grew 0.7% year-on-year in Q3 2023, an improvement from the 0.5% growth seen in Q2. The country’s GDP also saw a 1% sequential growth on a seasonally adjusted basis, exceeding expectations of a 0.4% year-on-year growth and 0.6% sequential growth, according to private-sector economists polled by Bloomberg.
The better-than-expected third-quarter growth was driven by a milder contraction in the manufacturing sector, which saw a 5% decline year-on-year. Despite this improvement, it marked the fourth consecutive quarter of contraction for the sector. Meanwhile, services growth slowed, with a 1.9% increase in Q3, down from the previous quarter’s 2.8% growth.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore expects full-year growth to be on the lower end of its forecast range, between 0.5% and 1.5%. Despite some cautious optimism for a gradual improvement in 2024, the outlook for the remainder of 2023 remains uncertain.
