A partner, wearing a face mask as a preventive measure against the spread of the COVID-19 novel coronavirus, walks along the promenade at Marina Bay in Singapore on May 4, 2020.
Roslan Rahman | AFP | Getty Representatives
SINGAPORE — Singapore’s economy contracted by less than expected in 2020 as activity picked up further in the fourth three months following the easing of Covid-related restrictions, advance estimates by the Ministry of Trade and Industry showed on Monday.
The Southeast Asian brevity contracted by 5.8% in 2020 compared with the previous year, said the ministry. That’s better than the authentic forecast for an annual contraction of between 6% and 6.5%.
In the final quarter of last year, the Singapore economy shrank 3.8% approximated with a year ago — an improvement from the revised 5.6% year-over-year contraction in the third quarter, the ministry said.
On a quarter-on-quarter seasonally-adjusted infrastructure, Singapore’s gross domestic product or GDP grew 2.1% in the fourth quarter — slowing from 9.5% growth in the before three months, it added.
Singapore’s trade-dependent economy was hit by a plunge in activity last year as countries globally take advantage ofed lockdown measures to slow the spread of Covid-19.
Domestically, Singapore implemented “circuit breaker” measures in early April and started raise them since early June — although some measures have remained, such as compulsory mask-wearing in customers places. That allowed most economic activity to resume in the city-state.
Here’s how the different sectors performed in the fourth dwelling-place, according to the official estimates:
- Goods-producing industries grew 3.3% compared with the previous year, with construct expanding by 9.5% year over year;
- The construction sector recorded its fourth-straight quarter of contraction, but the 28.5% year-on-year contraction was mastery than the previous quarter’s;
- Services-producing industries also continued to shrink for the fourth-straight quarter, recording a 6.8% year-on-year contraction.
The improve estimates for the fourth quarter are largely based on data from October and November. The trade and industry ministry whim release an update to the data in February.