Tracking The World Economy...-15/10/2010

Singapore’s Economy Contracted In The 3Q But Currency Was Allowed To Strengthen

Singapore’s economy contracted by an annualised rate of 19.8% in the 3Q, after slowing down to +27.3% in the 2Q and from +45.9% in the 1Q. The drop was an expected correction from the exceptionally growth recorded in 1H 2010. As a result, the manufacturing production fell by 57.0% in the 3Q, compared with +66.6% in the 2Q and +200.3% in the 1Q. This was largely attributed to a drop in the biomedical manufacturing cluster, as some pharmaceutical companies switched to producing a different value-mix of active pharmaceutical ingredients and there were also some plant maintenance shutdowns during the quarter. Similarly, construction contracted by 11.7% in the 3Q, after rising by 29.1% in the 2Q. This was mainly due to the completion of key commercial and industrial building projects earlier in the year.
In the same vein, the services sector slowed down sharply to 1.6% in the 3Q, from +12.6% in the 2Q. Growth in traderelated services sectors, such as wholesale trade and transport & storage, also slowed down from the high growth seen in the 1H.


Tracking The World Economy...-15/10/2010