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Preliminary official data released Tuesday indicated that Singapore’s economy grew by 2.9% in the third quarter.
This marked a slowdown from the previous quarter, largely due to US tariffs impacting vital manufacturing sectors.
The Southeast Asian city-state, heavily reliant on international trade, remains vulnerable to global slowdowns caused by tariffs, despite facing only a baseline 10 per cent levy from US President Donald Trump.
Although the GDP growth for July–September surpassed economists’ expectations, it marked the slowest pace this year, according to trade ministry data.
The economy grew 4.1 per cent in the first quarter and 4.5 per cent in the second.
Singapore’s export-driven manufacturing sector remained flat year-on-year in Q3, compared with 5.0 per cent growth in Q2, the ministry said.
“Output declines in the biomedical and general manufacturing clusters weighed on growth,” it added.
The preliminary GDP figures, based on performance in the first two months of the quarter, are subject to revision. They follow data from last month showing weaker shipments to Singapore’s key export markets.
Non-oil domestic exports fell 11.3 per cent in August, accelerating from a 4.7 per cent decline in July.
Exports to the US dropped nearly 29 per cent in August, extending a 42.8 per cent fall in July, while exports to China declined 21.5 per cent, steeper than July’s 12.3 per cent decrease.
In August, Singapore’s trade ministry raised its 2025 growth forecast to 1.5–2.5 per cent, up from 0–2.0 per cent, but cautioned that global uncertainties persisted.
