SINGAPORE, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Singapore's Ministry of Trade and Industry announced on Friday morning that based on advance estimates, the country's gross domestic product (GDP) for the first quarter of 2018 grew 4.3 percent year on year.
That was higher than the GDP growth of 3.6 percent for the fourth quarter of 2017 and also 3.6 percent for the whole year.
On a quarter-on-quarter seasonally-adjusted annualized basis, Singapore's economy expanded by 1.4 percent in the first quarter, lower than the 2.1 percent growth in the previous quarter.
In a breakdown, Singapore's manufacturing sector grew 10.1 percent year on year in the first quarter, compared to the 4.8 percent growth in the fourth quarter of last year. The construction sector contracted by 4.4 percent year on year, compared to the 5 percent decline in the previous quarter, due to a fall in both private sector and public sector construction activities.
Meanwhile, the services producing industries expanded by 3.8 percent year on year, slightly faster than the 3.5 percent growth in the previous quarter, mainly supported by the finance and insurance sector and the wholesale and retail trade sector.
The advanced GDP estimate figures were computed largely from data in the first two months of the quarter, according to the ministry. These figures are intended as an early indication of the GDP growth in the quarter, and are subject to revision when more comprehensive data become available.
The ministry said it will release the preliminary GDP estimates for the first quarter this May.
