A government survey of 24 private-sector economists in February projected a decline of 1.1%. Economists polled by Reuters earlier this month had expected a dip of 0.2%, instead of the first year-on-year growth since the pandemic hit more than a year ago.
Powered by the manufacturing sector riding on a global demand recovery, Singapore’s economy unexpectedly grew in the first quarter of this year, reversing three previous quarters of contraction caused by the pandemic (see chart).
According to advance estimates released by the Ministry of Trade and Industry on April 14, Singapore’s economy eked out a 0.2% y-o-y expansion in the first quarter of this year, versus a y-o-y growth of 0% for the first quarter of last year.
