SINGAPORE, Feb 17 — Singapore’s economy grew at a faster pace in the fourth quarter than initially estimated, driven by a strong rebound in manufacturing and financial services.
Key points
Gross domestic product rose an annualised 12.3 per cent in the three months to December from the previous quarter, when it declined a revised 0.4 per cent, the trade ministry said in a statement today.
That compares with a January estimate of a 9.1 per cent gain and the median forecast of 12.6 per cent in a Bloomberg survey of eight economists.
GDP rose 2.9 per cent in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, compared with the 2.5 per cent median estimate. The economy expanded two per cent in 2016, higher than a previous estimate of 1.8 per cent
Big picture
Singapore, one of Asia’s most trade-dependent nations, is benefiting from a recovery in Chinese demand, with exports and industrial output climbing in the fourth quarter. The outlook is uncertain though because global demand remains weak and the US has threatened to impose trade barriers on countries like China.
Singapore’s government is forecasting expansion of one per cent to three per cent in 2017 and is embarking on strategies to sustain average growth rates of two per cent to three per cent in coming years.
That outlook will guide the budget, which Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat will unveil on Monday, and the central bank’s policy review in April.
Other details
The services industry, which accounts for about two-thirds of the economy, rose an annualised 8.4 per cent in the fourth quarter from the previous three months Financial services grew an annualised 36.5 per cent.
Manufacturing surged an annualised 39.8 per cent. — Bloomberg
