Singapore: Economic growth eases further in Q1
The economy expanded 3.4% year on year in the first quarter of 2022, slowing from Q4 2021’s 6.1% growth. Meanwhile, in seasonally-adjusted quarter-on-quarter terms, the economy grew 0.4% in Q4, decelerating from the 2.3% expansion recorded in the prior quarter.
The slowdown in annual growth was broad based. Growth in the services sector came in at 3.9% year on year in Q1 (Q4 2021: +4.4% yoy), while growth in the construction sector fell to 1.8% in Q1 from 2.9% in the prior quarter. Moreover, growth in the manufacturing sector declined to 6.0% in Q1 from 15.5% in Q4 2021.
Despite easing growth, analysts at Nomura were positive regarding the outlook:
“We think the substantial relaxation of domestic Covid-19 restrictions and border rules in Q2 will contribute to a strong rebound in the growth momentum […]. In addition, catch-up effects should boost growth, as we believe the full border re-opening that kicked off in April will support the sectors worst-hit by the pandemic, such as travel and tourism. […] By our estimates, these laggard sectors account for about 26% of GDP, while their total economic output is still 10% below pre-Covid levels. We think, overall, total GDP will return to its pre-pandemic trend in Q2, well ahead of regional peers.”