A woman, wearing a face mask as a precautionary measure against the spread of the novel coronavirus COVID-19, is walking along the Marina Bay waterfront in Singapore on May 4, 2020.
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SINGAPORE – Singapore’s economy shrinks less than expected in 2020, as activity rose further in the fourth quarter following easing Covid-related restrictions, according to early estimates on Monday of the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
The Southeast Asian economy contracted by 5.8% in 2020 compared to the previous year, the ministry said. It is better than the official forecast for an annual contraction of between 6% and 6.5%.
In the last quarter of last year, Singapore’s economy shrank by 3.8% compared to the previous year, an improvement over the revised 5.6% year-on-year contraction in the third quarter, he said. the ministry.
Seasonally, Singapore’s gross domestic product, or GDP, grew 2.1% in the fourth quarter, slowing from 9.5% in the previous three months, he added.
Singapore’s trade-dependent economy was hit by a drop in activity last year as countries imposed blockade measures around the world to curb the spread of Covid-19.
At the national level, Singapore implemented “circuit breakers” measures in early April and began lifting them in early June, although some measures have been maintained, such as the mandatory use of masks in places. public. This allowed most of the economic activity to resume in the city-state.
According to official estimates, the performance of the different sectors during the fourth quarter is shown:
- Goods-producing industries grew by 3.3% compared to the previous year, with manufacturing up 9.5% year-on-year;
- The construction sector recorded its fourth consecutive quarter of contraction, but the year-on-year contraction of 28.5% was better than the previous quarter;
- Service-producing industries also continued to decline during the fourth consecutive quarter, recording a year-on-year contraction of 6.8%.
Forecasts for the fourth quarter are largely based on October and November data. The Ministry of Trade and Industry will release an update on the data in February.