Singapore’s economy expanded by 2.4 percent in the third quarter of this year compared to a year ago, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said in its report on advance third-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) data on October 14.
The manufacturing sector grew by 1.4 percent, lower than the 1.5 percent growth in the preceding quarter, with growth supported primarily by the biomedical manufacturing and electronics clusters.
The construction sector also experienced a 1.4 percent year-on-year increase, a sharp slowdown from the 4.1 percent growth in the previous quarter, due to weaker private sector construction activities, the MTI said.
It added that the services industry grew by 2.9 percent, slightly higher than the 2.8 percent growth in the second quarter, driven by finance, insurance and business services.
Also on October 14, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said it will maintain its policy of allowing a modest and gradual appreciation of the Singapore dollar against its policy band.
MAS said the policy stance, which has been in place since April 2012, is appropriate for containing domestic and imported sources of inflationary pressures, and ensuring that inflation expectations remain well anchored.
It also lowered its inflation outlook for 2014 with CPI-All Items inflation, or headline inflation, at 1.0 to 1.5 percent in 2014, compared to 1.5 to 2.0 percent as predicted before.
As for core inflation, which excludes the cost of accommodation and private road transport, MAS said this is likely to average 2.0 to 2.5 percent in 2014, lower than the previous forecast of 2.0 to 3.0 percent.-VNA
The manufacturing sector grew by 1.4 percent, lower than the 1.5 percent growth in the preceding quarter, with growth supported primarily by the biomedical manufacturing and electronics clusters.
The construction sector also experienced a 1.4 percent year-on-year increase, a sharp slowdown from the 4.1 percent growth in the previous quarter, due to weaker private sector construction activities, the MTI said.
It added that the services industry grew by 2.9 percent, slightly higher than the 2.8 percent growth in the second quarter, driven by finance, insurance and business services.
Also on October 14, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said it will maintain its policy of allowing a modest and gradual appreciation of the Singapore dollar against its policy band.
MAS said the policy stance, which has been in place since April 2012, is appropriate for containing domestic and imported sources of inflationary pressures, and ensuring that inflation expectations remain well anchored.
It also lowered its inflation outlook for 2014 with CPI-All Items inflation, or headline inflation, at 1.0 to 1.5 percent in 2014, compared to 1.5 to 2.0 percent as predicted before.
As for core inflation, which excludes the cost of accommodation and private road transport, MAS said this is likely to average 2.0 to 2.5 percent in 2014, lower than the previous forecast of 2.0 to 3.0 percent.-VNA
