Singapore fourth-quarter GDP growth picks up on services sector

SINGAPORE(Reuters) - Singapore’s economy expanded at a slightly faster pace in the fourth quarter, meeting expectations, as the services sector helped offset weakness in manufacturing, preliminary data showed on Thursday.

Gross domestic product (GDP) grew 0.8% in October-December from the same period a year ago, compared with a revised 0.7% in the previous quarter, the Ministry of Trade and Industry said in a statement.

Analysts had expected GDP growth of 0.8%.

The economy grew 0.1% quarter-on-quarter on an annualised and seasonally adjusted basis, the Ministry of Trade and Industry said in a statement, compared with a upwardly revised 2.4% rise the quarter before. Analysts had expected a 0.4% expansion.

(Reporting by Aradhana Aravindan and John Geddie in Singapore; Editing by Sam Holmes)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.