A woman, wearing a face mask as a precautionary measure against the spread of the new COVID-19 coronavirus, is walking along the promenade in Marina Bay in Singapore on May 4, 2020.
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SINGAPORE – Singapore’s economy shrinks less than expected in 2020 as activity rises in the fourth quarter after Covid restrictions eased, Ministry of Trade and Industry estimates
The Southeast Asian economy contracted by 5.8% in 2020 compared to the previous year, the ministry said. This is better than the official forecast for an annual contraction between 6% and 6.5%.
In the last quarter of last year, Singapore’s economy fell 3.8% from a year ago – an improvement from the revised 5.6% year-on-year contraction in the third quarter, the ministry said.
On a seasonally adjusted quarterly basis, Singapore’s gross domestic product or GDP rose 2.1% in the fourth quarter – slowing from 9.5% in the past three months, he added.
Singapore’s trade-dependent economy was hit by a slowdown last year as countries imposed global lock-in measures to slow the spread of Covid-19.
Internally, Singapore implemented “circuit breaker” measures in early April and began lifting them in early June – although some measures remain, such as mandatory wearing a mask in public places. This allowed most of the economic activity to resume in the city-state.
Here is how the various sectors evolved in the fourth quarter, according to official estimates:
- Commodity-producing industries increased by 3.3% compared to the previous year, the manufacturing industry increasing by 9.5% from year to year;
- The construction sector recorded the fourth consecutive quarter of contraction, but the contraction of 28.5% year-on-year was better than the previous quarter;
- Service industries also continued to decline for the fourth consecutive quarter, contracting by 6.8% year-on-year.
Estimates for the fourth quarter are largely based on data from October and November. The Ministry of Trade and Industry will launch a data update in February.