Guess what is the 'unusual strength' in Singapore's latest GDP

Clue: it jumped a whopping 37.6%.

According to UBS, Singapore's recent economic data is not obviously the start of a manufacturing uptrend. The unusual strength in GDP was mainly driven by the manufacturing sector (up 37.6% annualised qoq), although both construction and services were also robust (both up 9% annualised qoq).

The gains in manufacturing were not just in the volatile bio-medical sector but also in electronics. Even so there remains a question mark over sustainability.

Here's more from UBS:

Accelerations in late 2011 and 2012 in Singapore non-biomedical manufacturing have proved short lived and the national performance amongst ASEAN peers is not uniformly strong.

Thai manufacturing weakness in the context of Indonesian and Philippine strength suggests domestic drivers rather than a trade led recovery. Moreover, the message on global trade growth – so important for Singapore – remains downbeat.

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