Singapore’s economy grew 4.1% in Q3 of 2024: MTI advance estimates

SINGAPORE: Singapore’s economy picked up momentum in the third quarter of 2024, growing by 4.1 per cent compared to the same period last year.
The growth was helped by the expansion of the manufacturing sector after two quarters of contraction.
The figure is higher than the 2.9 per cent growth recorded in the second quarter of 2024, according to advance estimates released by the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) on Monday (Oct 14).
On a quarter-on-quarter seasonally adjusted basis, Singapore’s economy expanded 2.1 per cent, faster than the 0.4 per cent growth in the second quarter.
Advance gross domestic product estimates are mainly computed from data gathered in the first two months of the quarter – July and August in this case.
They are intended as an early indicator of GDP growth for the three-month period, and may be revised later when more data is available.
In August, Singapore narrowed its GDP growth forecast to 2 per cent to 3 per cent for the year. That came after a better-than-expected performance in the first half of the year.
MTI previously said it expected GDP growth to be between 1 per cent and 3 per cent.
The manufacturing sector grew 7.5 per cent in the third quarter, rebounding from the 1.1 per cent contraction in the previous quarter. The sector saw a contraction of 1.5 per cent in the first quarter.
“Growth in the sector was supported by output expansions across all manufacturing clusters, except for the biomedical manufacturing cluster,” said MTI.
On a quarter-on-quarter seasonally adjusted basis, the sector grew by 9.9 per cent, compared with the 1.2 per cent contraction in the second quarter.
The construction sector expanded by 3.1 per cent in the third quarter, versus the 4.8 per cent growth in the previous quarter. The growth was tied to an increase in public sector construction output.
“On a quarter-on-quarter seasonally adjusted basis, the sector’s growth was flat, moderating from the 3.4 per cent growth in the second quarter,” said MTI.
The wholesale and retail trade and transportation and storage sectors collectively expanded by 3.5 per cent from a year ago, building on the 3.9 per cent growth in the second quarter.
All sectors in the group recorded growth except for retail trade.
Growth in the transportation and storage sector was mainly supported by water and air transport, while wholesale trade growth was driven by the machinery, equipment and supplies, and “others” segments.
The group of sectors comprising the information and communications, finance and insurance, and professional services sectors grew 4.3 per cent year-on-year in the third quarter, moderating from the 5.3 per cent growth in the previous quarter.
In the information and communications sector, growth was mainly driven by the IT and information services sector, while the professional services sector was largely supported by the head offices and business representative offices segment.
“Meanwhile, the finance and insurance sector grew on the back of an expansion in activity across all segments, particularly the banking, activities auxiliary to financial services and fund management segments,” MTI said.
On a quarter-on-quarter seasonally adjusted basis, the group of sectors grew 1.6 per cent compared to 1.2 per cent in the second quarter.
The group comprising accommodation and food services, real estate, administrative and support services, and other services grew 1 per cent in the third quarter, unchanged from the previous quarter. Within the group, growth was led by the accommodation and other services sectors.
“In particular, the accommodation sector expanded in tandem with the continued recovery in international visitor arrivals,” said MTI.
On a quarter-on-quarter seasonally adjusted basis, the sectors within the group collectively grew 0.8 per cent in the third quarter, a turnaround from the 1.3 per cent contraction in the second quarter.
The preliminary GDP estimates for the third quarter of 2024, which will include data on inflation, employment and productivity, will be released in the Economic Survey of Singapore next month.