Singapore - Singapore's export-reliant economy contracted
10.1 per cent in the first quarter of 2009 compared to a year ago and
could shrink by 6 to 9 per cent for the whole year, the government
said Thursday.
Amid the global economic downturn, the city-state is in its worst
recession since independence from Malaysia in 1965.
'There are still no decisive indicators of economic recovery,' the
Ministry of Trade and Industry said in a statement.
'At this point in time, any new risk, such as an acute worsening
of the influenza A (H1N1) situation or undisclosed weaknesses in US
or European banks coming to light, could set back the process of
economic recovery by several quarters,' it said.
On a quarter-to-quarter basis, Singapore's gross domestic product
(GDP) dropped 14.6 per cent in the period from January to March,
compared to a decline of 16.4 per cent posted in the last quarter of
2008.
In the first three months of 2009, manufacturing slumped 26.6 per
cent, worse than the contraction of 21.3 per cent in the previous
quarter.
Service industries fell 10.3 per cent in the first quarter, less
than their decline by 15 per cent a quarter earlier.
The final numbers released Thursday were slightly better than
estimates issued in April, when the government expected GDP for the
first quarter to shrink 11.5 per cent year-on-year.
However, the ministry maintained its forecast that GDP for the
whole of 2009 will drop as much as 9 per cent.
In 2008, the Singapore economy grew by 1.1 per cent, compared to
7.8 per cent a year earlier.
Your Talkback on this Story