Singapore's economy contracted by 12.6 per cent on a year-on-year basis in the second quarter of 2020, based on advance estimates, said Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI).
The decline was attributed to the circuit breaker measures that were implemented from April 7 to June 1 to slow the spread of COVID-19. These include the suspension of nonessential services and closure of most workplace premises, as well as weak external demand amid a global economic downturn precipitated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
On a quarter-on-quarter seasonally-adjusted annualised basis, Singapore's economy shrank by 41.2 per cent in the second quarter.
The manufacturing sector grew by 2.5 per cent on a year-on-year basis in the second quarter, slower than the 8.2 per cent growth in the previous quarter. Growth during the quarter was primarily due to a surge in output in the biomedical manufacturing cluster, said MTI.
Meanwhile, the construction sector contracted by 54.7 per cent on a year-on-year basis in the second quarter, a significant deterioration from the 1.1 per cent decline in the previous quarter. This was due to circuit breaker measures which led to a stoppage of most construction activities during the period. Manpower disruptions also arose from additional measures to curb the spread of COVID-19, including movement restrictions at foreign worker dormitories.
Domesticallyoriented services sectors such as food services, retail and business services were also significantly affected by the circuit breaker measures. On a quarter-on-quarter seasonally adjusted annualised basis, the services producing industries shrank by 37.7 per cent in the second quarter, extending the 13.4 per cent decline recorded in the preceding quarter.
