Singapore GDP sees quarterly decline, plunges more than forecasts

Singapore’s economy declined in the third quarter from a year ago. The drop came lower than what was initially predicted, preliminary data showed on Wednesday.

On an annual basis, gross domestic product (GDP) recorded a 7% contraction from July to September. The reading released by the Ministry of Trade and Industry came sharper than the 6.8% drop predicted by economists in a Reuters poll.

On a quarterly and seasonally adjusted basis, GDP expanded 7.9% in the third quarter. The trade ministry said that it would not issue previously reported annualized data and would only report non-annualized quarter-on-quarter data from the third quarter.

On Wednesday, Singapore’s central bank decided to retain its monetary policy at its current level.  The central bank said that this will remain appropriate for some time as Singapore’s economy emerges from the coronavirus drag.