Singapore 13 August 2020 – Singapore’s economy has contracted by 13.2 per cent on a year-on-year basis, according to the Ministry of Trade and Industry’s statement on 11 August 2020.
On a quarter-on-quarter seasonally adjusted basis, the economy contracted by 13.1 per cent, sharper than the 0.8 per cent fall in the first quarter. Experiencing two consecutive quarter-on-quarter contractions means that Singapore has entered a technical recession.
The contraction was due to the Circuit Breaker measures implemented from 7 April to 1 June 2020 to slow down the spread of COVID-19, which includes the suspension of non-essential services, the closure of most workplace premises, as well as the weak external demand due to the global economic downturn precipitated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The construction sector contracted by 59.3 per cent year-on-year, deteriorating from the 1.2 per cent contraction in the previous quarter. This was because almost all construction activities stopped during the Circuit Breaker period. Construction firms have also been affected by manpower disruptions arising from additional measures to curb the spread of the virus, including movement restrictions at foreign worker dormitories.
Taking into account the global and domestic economic environment, as well as the performance of the Singapore economy in the first half of the year, the ministry narrowed the GDP growth forecast for Singapore for 2020 to “-7.0 to -5.0 per cent”, from “-7.0 to -4.0 per cent”.
Notwithstanding the narrowing of the forecast range, there continues to be significant uncertainty over how the COVID-19 situation will evolve in the coming quarters, and correspondingly, the trajectory of the economic recovery in both the global and domestic economies.
– Construction+ Online
Source: Ministry of Trade and Industry
