Singapore’s Q4 GDP growth speeds up

A ship docks at Keppel terminal in Singapore Nov 17, 2020. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo

SINGAPORE  —Singapore’s economy grew 1.2 percent in 2023, moderating from the 3.6 percent growth in 2022, preliminary government data showed on Tuesday.

Gross domestic product (GDP) was up 2.8 percent in the October to December period on a year-on-year basis, according to advance estimates from the trade ministry. This was faster than the 1 percent expansion in the third quarter of 2023.

On a quarter-on-quarter seasonally adjusted basis, GDP expanded 1.7 percent in the October to December period, extending the 1.3 percent expansion in the third quarter.

Monetary policy is due for a review at the end of this month after the central bank moved its review from twice a year to quarterly starting in 2024.

READ: Singapore economy grew 1.2% in 2023 -PM Lee

In October, the central bank left monetary policy settings unchanged as inflation in the city-state moderated.

Singapore’s core inflation slowed to 3.2 percent in November last year from a peak of 5.5% in January and February.

In a central bank survey released last month, economists cut their forecasts for Singapore’s economic growth in 2024 to 2.3 percent from 2.5 percent, citing spillovers from slowing external growth as the top risk to the financial hub.