1. Press releases
Economic Growth in Second Quarter 2008 Eased to 1.9 Per Cent
10 July 2008
Economic Growth in Second Quarter 2008 Eased to 1.9 Per Cent
10 July 2008. The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) announced today that real gross domestic product (GDP) rose by an estimated1 1.9 per cent on a year-on-year basis in the second quarter of 2008, down from 6.9 per cent in the first quarter of 2008. The slowdown chiefly reflected a sharp contraction in biomedical manufacturing output. Excluding the biomedical sciences (BMS) cluster, industrial production grew moderately.
On a quarter-on-quarter seasonally-adjusted annualized basis, real GDP declined by 6.6 per cent following an increase of 15.6 per cent in the previous quarter.
Performance of Goods Producing Industries
The manufacturing sector is estimated to have contracted by 5.6 per cent in the second quarter, compared with a 12.7 per cent growth in the first quarter of 2008. This largely reflected a decline in the output of the BMS cluster during the quarter. The electronics cluster also registered some decline, mainly because of weakening foreign demand. However, other industries such as transport engineering and chemicals continued to grow. In addition, the construction sector is estimated to have grown by a robust 15.2 per cent in the second quarter, following a 16.9 per cent expansion in the preceding quarter.
Performance of Services Producing Industries
The services producing industries are estimated to have grown by 6.9 per cent in the second quarter, compared with 7.6 per cent in the previous quarter. Growth was led by the financial services and business services sectors. Sectors such as wholesale & retail trade and transport & storage also posted healthy growth during the quarter.
Release of Preliminary GDP Estimates
The preliminary GDP estimates for the second quarter of 2008, including performance by sectors, sources of growth, inflation, employment and productivity, will be released in August 2008 in the Economic Survey of Singapore.
ANNEX
Gross Domestic Product at 2000 Market Prices
(Percentage change over corresponding period of previous year)
Gross Domestic Product at 2000 Market Prices
2Q07 | 3Q07 | 4Q07 | 2007 | 1Q08 | 2Q08* | |
Overall GDP | 9.1 | 9.5 | 5.4 | 7.7 | 6.9 | 1.9 |
Goods Producing Industries | ||||||
Manufacturing | 8.6 | 11.0 | 0.2 | 5.8 | 12.7 | -5.6 |
Construction | 22.4 | 20.1 | 24.3 | 20.3 | 16.9 | 15.2 |
Services Producing Industries | 8.6 | 8.5 | 7.7 | 8.1 | 7.6 | 6.9 |
* Advance estimates
MINISTRY OF TRADE AND INDUSTRY
10 July 2008
T[1] The advance GDP estimates for second quarter 2008 are computed largely from the first two months of the quarter (i.e. April and May 2008). They are intended as an early indication of the GDP growth in the quarter, and are subject to revision when more comprehensive data becomes available.
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