13-10-2023 (SINGAPORE) According to advance estimates released by the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) on Friday, Singapore’s economy exhibited a year-on-year growth of 0.7 per cent in the third quarter of 2023, surpassing the 0.5 per cent expansion witnessed in the preceding quarter.
On a seasonally-adjusted quarter-on-quarter basis, the economy expanded by 1 per cent, a notable improvement compared to the 0.1 per cent growth in the prior quarter. These advance GDP estimates for the third quarter primarily rely on data from July and August, covering the initial two months of the quarter. They serve as an early indicator of GDP growth and may be subject to revision once more comprehensive data becomes available, as per MTI.
Sector Performances
In the third quarter of 2023, the manufacturing sector recorded a year-on-year contraction of 5 per cent, a significant improvement from the 7.7 per cent contraction in the previous quarter. MTI attributed the sector’s weak performance to output declines in all manufacturing clusters, except for the transport engineering cluster. On a seasonally-adjusted quarter-on-quarter basis, the sector experienced growth of 0.2 per cent, marking a turnaround from the 1.5 per cent contraction in the second quarter.
Meanwhile, the construction sector expanded by 6 per cent year-on-year in the third quarter, extending the 7.7 per cent growth witnessed in the second quarter. According to MTI, this growth was underpinned by expansions in both public and private construction output. On a seasonally-adjusted quarter-on-quarter basis, the construction sector posted growth of 0.6 per cent, albeit at a slower rate compared to the 2.7 per cent growth in the previous quarter.
Within the services sectors, the wholesale and retail trade, as well as transportation and storage sectors, collectively exhibited a year-on-year growth of 0.6 per cent in the third quarter, a deceleration from the 2.2 per cent growth in the preceding quarter. All sectors within this group recorded expansions. MTI noted that growth in the wholesale trade sector was primarily driven by the fuels and chemicals segment, while growth in the transportation and storage sector was supported by the air transport segment. On a seasonally-adjusted quarter-on-quarter basis, these sectors as a whole contracted by 0.1 per cent in the third quarter, reversing the 3 per cent expansion in the prior quarter.
The group of sectors comprising information and communications, finance and insurance, as well as professional services, displayed a year-on-year growth of 1.5 per cent in the third quarter, following the 1.2 per cent growth in the previous quarter. Within this group, all sectors, except for the finance and insurance sector, experienced expansion during the third quarter. The finance and insurance sector’s contraction was largely attributed to the underperformance of the banking and insurance segments, according to MTI. On a seasonally-adjusted quarter-on-quarter basis, sectors within this group collectively expanded by 0.7 per cent in the third quarter, moderating from the 1.1 per cent growth in the second quarter.
The remaining group of services sectors, which includes accommodation and food services, real estate, administrative and support services, and other services, recorded a year-on-year growth of 4.7 per cent in the third quarter. This marked a slowdown from the 6.1 per cent growth observed in the previous quarter. All sectors within this group expanded during the quarter, with the accommodation sector particularly thriving due to the continued recovery in international visitor arrivals, as per MTI. On a seasonally-adjusted quarter-on-quarter basis, the sectors within this group collectively expanded by 1.4 per cent in the third quarter, picking up the pace from the 0.4 per cent growth in the prior quarter.
