google.com, pub-6370463716499017, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 AlfaBloggers Best Bloggers Team Of Asia : Singapore’s economy shrank by 1.5 percent in the third quarter but avoided a technical recession

Sunday 14 October 2012

Singapore’s economy shrank by 1.5 percent in the third quarter but avoided a technical recession











 Singapore’s economy shrank by 1.5 percent in the third quarter but avoided a technical recession after growth in the previous three months was adjusted upwards, government figures showed Friday.
 
The Ministry of Trade and Industry said the export-driven city-state was still on track to achieve annual growth of 1.5-2.5 percent in 2012.
 
“Economic growth in the second quarter was better than expected, resulting in an upward revision of quarter-on-quarter annualised growth from the preliminary estimates of minus 0.7 per cent to (plus) 0.2 per cent,” it said.
 
The revision was thanks to new data showing stronger growth in both industrial and residential building, it added.
 
Construction expanded 14.3 percent in the June quarter instead of 0.9 percent as earlier estimated.
 
Two successive quarters of negative growth are regarded as a technical recession. Singapore is seen as a bellwether for Asia’s leading economies because of its sensitivity to world trade.
 
“Technically, we averted a recession,” Song Seng Wun, a regional economist with CIMB Research, told AFP. Jason Hughes, head of premium client management at IG Markets Singapore, described the data as “relatively good numbers for Singapore” and DBS Bank said it was maintaining its projection for the economy to grow by 1.8 percent this year. But DBS said further tightening measures on foreign workers — a politically sensitive issue because of complaints from citizens that foreigners are taking away jobs — could take the momentum off construction and other industries reliant on foreign labour.
 
The weak performance in the third quarter was largely due to a contraction in the manufacturing sector, a key pillar of the Singapore economy, as global demand for electronics goods declined. “For the rest of the year, growth could be weighed down by the subdued global economic conditions,” the trade ministry said. “Externally oriented sectors such as manufacturing and wholesale trade will be affected by the slowdown in advanced economies.” Construction and transport engineering however are expected to be healthy, it added. In a separate statement, the Monetary Authority of Singapore maintained its policy of keeping a stronger local currency in a bid to contain inflation amid price pressures from a labour market.


Local experts weigh in on a new recession
Wicked Local
Top economists warned this week that the United States and Europe risk falling into anotherrecession as growth is expected to slow over the next year. The International Monetary Fund said conditions could worsen if the U.S. doesn't deal with its ...
See all stories on this topic »
'From Recession to Success, There Are No Easy Steps'
Businessweek
These and a dozen other platitudes and pick-me-ups were uttered from the mouths of well-meaning family and friends when the recession caught up with me in early 2009. A magazine editor with an electronics trade pub, I was laid off in February of that ...
See all stories on this topic »
Singapore's economy shrinks, avoids recession
The News International
SINGAPORE: Singapore's economy shrank by 1.5 percent in the third quarter but avoided a technicalrecession after growth in the previous three months was adjusted upwards, government figures showed Friday. The Ministry of Trade and Industry said the ...
See all stories on this topic »
Consumer confidence rises to pre-recession levels, survey says
al.com (blog)
The latest consumer confidence score from the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's nationwide survey suggests shoppers feel as good about the economy now as they did before the recessionbegan. The preliminary estimate for nationwide consumer ...
See all stories on this topic »
Utah college numbers plateau after recession-era growth
Deseret News
Students come and go at the Student center at Salt Lake Community College in Taylorsville. Enrollment at Utah's public colleges and universities saw a slight decline this year, according to figures released Friday by the Utah System of Higher Education.
See all stories on this topic »

Deseret News
Consumers And Investors Confident Even As Global Recession Threatens Anew
Seeking Alpha
And at 83.1, consumer confidence is getting close to the 87 level it averaged in the year prior to the 2008-2009 recession. That's a lot more recovery than global economies have achieved, including that of the U.S.. Is it just due to the pixie dust ...
See all stories on this topic »
Singapore escapes recession
The Star Online
The trade-dependent economy contracted more than expected in the third quarter, and most economists had predicted an easing of policy as the island-state barely avoided a recession due to a revision to the second-quarter numbers. But high inflation ...
See all stories on this topic »

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.