Singapore’s economy grew at a modest pace of 1.9 per cent, although up from 1.2 per cent a year ago, the Ministry of Trade and Industry said today.
In the second quarter, the manufacturing sector grew by 3 per cent, recovering from a 5.9 per cent contraction in the same quarter last year.
Even the construction sector expanded by 5.1 per cent during the second quarter from 1.1 per cent in the same quarter in 2011.
However, the services industry’s growth slowed down to 1 per cent in the quarter from 4.6 per cent a year ago.
On quarter-on-quarter basis, the growth in the second quarter contracted by 1.1 per cent compared to the 9.4 per cent expansion in the preceding quarter.
The Ministry said that the weakened growth momentum in the second quarter was mainly due to a sequential contraction in the manufacturing sector, which declined 6 per cent from 20.9 per cent in the first quarter.
The stock market trading activities and business services declined during the second quarter, it added.