Lacklustre manufacturing sector fuels economic growth slump in Q2

Growth moderated to 2.4% from 4.8%.

The manufacturing sector is again the culprit in the slowdown in domestic economic growth in the second quarter. Manufacturing output moderated from 9.9% in Q1 to to 1.5% in Q2, as the economic growth slid to 2.4% from 4.8% in Q1.

According to data released by the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the manufacturing sector was mainly weighed down by the electronics cluster, which contracted by 4.8%.

Growth in the construction sector also moderated, posting a growth rate of 4.4% compared to the 6.4% expansion in the preceding quarter, due to fewer construction projects in the private sector.

Growth in other sectors also moderated. The transportation and storage sector grew by 2.0% in Q2, easing from the 5.5 per cent growth in the preceding quarter. Growth in the sector was weighed down by the water transport segment, which expanded by a much slower 2.1%, compared to 13% in Q1.

On a quarter-on-quarter seasonally-adjusted annualised basis, the economy expanded by 0.1 per cent, slower than the 1.8 per cent growth in the preceding quarter.