Singapore's growth slows in 2nd quarter

Singapore, July 15: Singapore's economic growth slowed in the second quarter, official data showed Tuesday, as geopolitical tensions tempered gains from the artificial intelligence boom. The 5.7 percent expansion in April-June compared with the 6.3 percent seen in the previous three months, according to advance estimates from the trade ministry.
Manufacturing was the main driver of growth, climbing 12.2 percent year on year and accelerating from 8.0 percent in January-March. This was "largely driven by output increases in the electronics and precision engineering clusters on account of strong AI-related demand for semiconductors and semiconductor manufacturing equipment respectively", the ministry said in a statement.
Robust global investment in artificial intelligence has lifted demand for chips, data centre equipment and other technology products, benefiting export-oriented economies such as Singapore.
However, growth in the June quarter was partly offset by contractions in the chemicals and biomedical clusters, both key components of the manufacturing sector.
The chemicals cluster was hit by "feedstock disruptions arising from the conflict in the Middle East", the ministry said. Prime Minister Lawrence Wong warned last month that the economy could see slower growth and higher inflation in the second half of the year as the impact of the Middle East war deepened.
Source: Qatar Tribune