[July 14, 2011] Singapore GDP retreats on cooling of global economy Tweet SINGAPORE, Jul 14, 2011 (dpa - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- The gross domestic product of Singapore fell quarter-on-quarter in the second three months of the year, led by a drop in the demand for semiconductor computer chips, authorities said Thursday. Economic activity fell from the first quarter at a rate equivalent to an annual 7.8 per cent, the Trade and Industry Ministry said in a statement, citing preliminary data. Compared with the same period a year earlier, the second quarter was up 0.5 per cent, down from the year-on-year growth of 9.3 per cent in the first three months of the year. The moderation in growth was led by the 5.5-per-cent decline in the manufacturing sector, especially the biomedical sector and electronics manufacturing, which was hit by a fall in demand for semiconductor chips. The services sector recorded a modest growth of 3.3 per cent year-on-year, down from 7.6 per cent in the January-March period, reflecting a slowdown on the distribution and financial sectors, the Ministry said. The construction sector recorded a 1.6-per-cent growth year-on-year, it said. The data were based largely on figures from April and May, the statement said, adding that more comprehensive statistics, including information for June, would be made available at a later date. To see more of dpa, go to http://www.dpa.de/English.82.0.html Copyright (c) 2011, dpa, Berlin Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]