Singapore’s trade-oriented economy marked its worst ever recession in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, preliminary data showed on Monday, although contraction moderated in the fourth quarter as the city-state lifted more coronavirus-related curbs.
The financial and transport hub was hit hard last year by local virus-related restrictions, border closures around the world and sluggish global economy.
The bellwether economy shrank 5.8% in 2020, slightly better than the official forecast for a contraction of between 6.5% and 6%. The government has previously said it expects gross domestic product (GDP) to grow 4% to 6% this year.
GDP contracted 3.8% in October-December on a year-on-year basis, the ministry of trade and industry said in a statement, an improvement over the 5.6% drop in the third quarter. Economists polled by Reuters had expected a decline of 4.5%, according to the median of their forecasts.
GDP grew 2.1% on a quarter-on-quarter seasonally adjusted basis in October-December, slowing from the 9.5% expansion in the third quarter.
The Singapore government has spent about S$100 billion ($75.45 billion) or 20% of its GDP, on virus-related relief to support households and businesses.
The city-state has eased most of its coronavirus rules, although its borders remain largely shut. It began its COVID-19 inoculation programme last week, and the government is keen to open more of the economy with the help of the vaccine in a country dependent on travel and trade.
Source: The Fiji Times |
