A woman, wearing a face mask as a preventive measure against the spread of the new coronavirus COVID-19, walks along the boardwalk at Marina Bay in Singapore on May 4, 2020.
Roslan Rahman | AFP | Getty Images
SINGAPORE – Singapore’s economy contracted less than expected in 2020, as activity increased further in the fourth quarter after easing Covid-related restrictions, early estimates from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry showed on Monday.
The Southeast Asian economy contracted 5.8% in 2020 compared to the previous year, the ministry said. Better than the official forecast of an annual contraction between 6% and 6.5%.
In the last quarter of last year, Singapore’s economy shrank 3.8% compared to the previous year – an improvement over the revised 5.6% contraction year over year in the third quarter, the ministry said.
On a seasonally adjusted quarterly basis, Singapore’s gross domestic product or GDP grew 2.1% in the fourth quarter – decelerating from the 9.5% growth in the previous three months, he added.
Singapore’s trade-dependent economy was hit by a slump in activity last year as countries globally imposed blocking measures to slow the spread of Covid-19.
Internally, Singapore implemented “breaker” measures in early April and started lifting them since early June – although some measures have remained, such as the mandatory use of a mask in public places. This allowed the resumption of most of the economic activity in the city-state.
See the performance of the different sectors in the fourth quarter, according to official estimates:
- Goods producing industries grew 3.3% in relation to the previous year, with manufacturing growing 9.5% in the annual comparison;
- The construction sector recorded its fourth consecutive quarter of contraction, but the 28.5% year-on-year contraction was better than in the previous quarter;
- Service-producing industries also continued to shrink for the fourth consecutive quarter, registering a 6.8% year-on-year contraction.
The forward estimates for the fourth quarter are largely based on data from October and November. The Ministry of Commerce and Industry will release an update of the data in February.