Singapore's gross domestic product surged a seasonally adjusted annualized 9.9 percent in the first quarter of 2012 compared to the previous three months, the Ministry of Trade and Industry said on Friday in an advanced estimate. That follows the 2.5 percent contraction in the fourth quarter of 2011, the 1.5 percent gain in the third quarter and the 5.9 percent contraction in Q2.
On a yearly basis, GDP added 1.6 percent after collecting 3.6 percent in Q4, 5.9 percent in the third quarter and 0.9 percent in Q2.
The manufacturing sector was the key support as it climbed 14.7 percent on quarter after contracting 11.1 percent in the previous three months. The sector fell 2.0 percent on year.
"This turnaround was supported by higher levels of output in the electronics and precision engineering clusters compared to the preceding quarter," the MTI said in a statement accompanying the data.
The construction sector added 6.2 percent on year, compared to the 2.9 percent growth in the preceding quarter. On a sequential basis, the construction sector surged 24.6 percent, an improvement from the contraction of 2.2 percent in the preceding quarter. This was primarily due to a pick-up in residential construction activities, the ministry said.
Growth in the services producing industries remained modest, up 2.9 percent on year following the 2.1 percent growth in the previous quarter. On a sequential basis, the services producing industries grew by an annualized rate of 6.9 percent, up from 1.7 percent in the preceding quarter.
"The pick-up in growth momentum was supported by increased stock market trading activities in the finance and insurance sector, as well as real estate activities in the business services sector," the MTI said. "Tourism-related sectors also expanded, buoyed by continued growth in visitor arrivals."
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