Singapore defies Trump’s tariffs as manufacturing drives growth
The city state’s economy grew 5.7 per cent in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, according to data from the trade ministry
Gross domestic product last quarter grew 5.7 per cent from the same period a year ago, according to an advance estimate on Friday from the Ministry of Trade and Industry. That compares with a 6.3 per cent median estimate in a Bloomberg survey and 4.3 per cent the previous quarter.
Manufacturing grew 15 per cent year on year due to strong growth from pharmaceuticals and demand for artificial intelligence-related semiconductors, servers and server-related products, the ministry said.
The government in November pegged 2026 growth at 1 per cent to 3 per cent — the third year in a row it gave the same initial forecast range. That outlook far underestimated activity the previous two years: 2024 came in at 4.4 per cent and last year hit 4.8 per cent, the fastest since 2021.
Meanwhile, inflation has been tamed and expected by Bloomberg Economics to “remain benign” this year. The Monetary Authority of Singapore, its central bank, will release its latest policy statement by January 30 after getting one more inflation reading the week before.