SINGAPORE: Singapore’s economy showed signs of recovery in the third quarter of 2024, growing by 4.1% year-on-year (YoY), according to advance estimates from the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) released on Oct 14.
This growth is a big improvement from the 2.9% increase seen in the previous quarter. It has also experienced the fastest growth since the third quarter of 2022, when the economy grew by 4.2%, as reported by The Business Times.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, Singapore’s GDP was up 2.1% compared to the previous quarter, a notable uptick from the 0.4% growth recorded earlier.
The manufacturing sector recorded a 7.5% YoY growth in Q3, rebounding from a 1.1% decline in the previous quarter.
MTI noted that this growth was driven by increases in output across nearly all manufacturing areas except for biomedical manufacturing.
Manufacturing also saw a substantial sequential increase of 9.9%, a turnaround from the previous quarter’s contraction of 1.2%.
The construction sector also grew, showing a 3.1% increase YoY, though this was down from the 4.8% growth recorded in the previous quarter. According to MTI, the rise in construction output was mainly due to public-sector projects.
Sequentially, the construction sector’s growth remained flat, a drop from the 3.4% growth achieved in Q2.
In terms of services, overall growth reached 3.3% in Q3, down from the 3.6% growth in the previous quarter.
When looking at the services sector on a quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) basis, there was a slight increase of 0.3%, a small decline compared to the 0.4% growth observed in Q2.
Within this sector, the wholesale and retail trade, alongside transportation and storage, expanded by 3.5% YoY, although this was a decrease from the previous quarter’s 3.9% growth.
Sequentially, this group of services contracted by 0.6%, reversing the 2.1% growth from the last quarter.
Service sectors, including information and communications, finance and insurance, and professional services, also saw a 4.3% YoY growth, down from a 5.4% increase in the second quarter.
This group of services rose by 1.6% QoQ, a bit faster than the 1.2% growth seen in the previous quarter.
The remaining service sectors, which include accommodation, food services, real estate, administrative support, and other services, recorded a 1% YoY growth, the same as in the previous quarter.
Sequentially, these sectors grew by 0.8%, recovering from a 1.3% contraction in the previous quarter. /TISG
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