Singapore's economy contracted more than expected in the fourth quarter of 2013 as the performance of the manufacturing, construction and services industries weakened, advance estimates released by the Ministry of Trade and Industry showed Thursday.
The fourth quarter gross domestic product contracted 2.7 percent on a quarter-on-quarter, seasonally-adjusted annualized basis, more than the expected 1.3 percent contraction. This followed a revised 2.2 percent expansion in the previous quarter.
The economy expanded 4.4 percent year-on-year in the fourth quarter, decelerating from the revised 5.9 percent growth recorded in the third quarter.
For the whole of 2013, the economy is estimated to have grown 3.7 percent, in line with the government's forecast of 3.5-4 percent, the Ministry said. In 2012, the economy grew 1.3 percent.
The manufacturing sector, accounting for roughly 20 percent of GDP, contracted at an annualized quarterly rate of 4 percent, reversing the 1.2 percent growth in the preceding quarter.
The construction sector shrank 6.9 percent, in contrast to the 1.7 percent expansion recorded in the previous quarter. Output by services producing industries contracted 1.7 percent compared with the 3 percent growth in the third quarter.
The growth rates of these key sectors slowed significantly on a year-on-year basis.
On December 31, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said the economy will grow 2-4 percent in 2014, in line with the government's forecast. Last month, economists surveyed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore said that the economy will expand 3.9 percent next year.
The MAS forecasts GDP growth rate of around 2.5 to 3.5 percent for 2014, but warned that any deterioration in the global environment could pose downside risks to Singapore's growth prospects.
In October, the MAS retained its tight monetary policy, saying that the current stance remained appropriate, given the balance of risks between external demand uncertainties and rising domestic inflationary pressures.
The Ministry will release the preliminary GDP estimates for the fourth quarter and the whole of 2013 in February.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Economic News
What parts of the world are seeing the best (and worst) economic performances lately? Click here to check out our Econ Scorecard and find out! See up-to-the-moment rankings for the best and worst performers in GDP, unemployment rate, inflation and much more.
May 15, 2026 15:25 ET Apart from the confirmation of Kevin Warsh as the next Fed chair, the main news on the economics front this week included key price data from the U.S. and the first quarter economic growth figures from major economies. Both consumer prices and producer costs have started to reflect the effect of supply shocks due to the Middle East conflict. In Europe, GDP data was in focus, while inflation data from China dominated the news flow in Asia.