Singapore Economy Up 3.6 Pct In Q4 2011

SINGAPORE, Jan 3 (Bernama) -- Singapore's economy grew by 3.6 per cent on a year-on-year basis in the fourth quarter of 2011, after rising 5.9 per cent in the previous three months. In a statement Tuesday, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said on a seasonally-adjusted quarter-on-quarter annualised basis, the economy, however, contracted by 4.9 per cent, when it climbed 1.5 per cent in the previous quarter. It said for the whole of 2011, the economy was estimated to have expanded by 4.8 per cent, in line with MTI’s growth forecast of around five per cent for the year. MTI said the moderation of growth in the fourth quarter was largely due to the slowdown in the manufacturing sector. On a year-on-year basis, the sector grew by 6.5 per cent, down from 13.4 per cent in the preceding quarter. On a seasonally-adjusted quarter-on-quarter annualised basis, the sector contracted. The advanced gross domestic product (GDP) estimates for the fourth quarter of 2011 are computed largely from data in the first two months of the quarter (i.e. October and November 2011). They are intended as an early indication of the GDP growth in the quarter, and are subjected to revision when more comprehensive data become available. The construction sector grew by 1.7 per cent on a year-on-year basis, up from 0.5 per cent in the preceding quarter. On a sequential basis, the construction sector contracted by an annualised rate of 6.7 per cent, mainly due to a decline in residential building activities. Growth in the services-producing industries was modest at 3.2 per cent on a year-on-year basis, lower than the 3.7 per cent growth registered in the preceding quarter. However, there was an improvement in growth momentum. On a sequential basis, the services-producing industries grew by an annualised rate of 3.4 per cent, reversing the 0.5 per cent contraction in the preceding quarter. The pick-up in growth momentum was mainly attributable to the wholesale and retail trade sector, which benefited from increased wholesale trading activities in the quarter. MTI will release the preliminary GDP estimates for the fourth quarter and the whole of 2011 in February 2012, including performance by sectors, sources of growth, inflation, employment and productivity, in its Economic Survey of Singapore. -- BERNAMA