DATA SNAP:Singapore 3Q GDP 14.9% On Qtr;Govt Revises 2009 GDP

SINGAPORE -- Singapore's economy continued to expand in the third quarter, boosting the government's expectations for a milder contraction for the full year than previously estimated.

Growth in gross domestic product for the three months to Sept. 30 on a seasonally adjusted and annualized basis rose 14.9%, lower than a revised 22.0% increase in the second quarter, according to advance estimates released Monday by the Ministry of Trade and Industry.

The median forecast from a poll of 10 economists tipped third-quarter GDP to grow 14.8% from the previous three months.

Compared with the year-earlier quarter, the economy is estimated to have expanded 0.8%, higher than a 0.5% increase tipped in the poll. GDP fell 3.2% from a year earlier in the second quarter.

This is the first on-year increase since the second quarter of 2008.

"A clear but modest recovery is underway globally, at least for the next three or four quarters," MTI said in a statement.

The government now expects the city-state's economy to post a milder contraction with the fall coming in between 2.5% and 2.0%, narrower than a previous forecast of a 4%-6% decline.

The revision was due to an upward revision in the second-quarter GDP and a spike in biomedical manufacturing output.

Output in the manufacturing sector rose 8.3% from a year earlier compared with 1.1% contraction in the previous quarter, driven by a surge in pharmaceutical production.

The services sector shrank 2.4%, while the construction sector expanded 12.4%.

"A sustained recovery in private consumption and investment in the developed economies is needed to support growth momentum into the second half of 2010," MTI said.

It said that uncertainties over the pace of the withdrawal of monetary and fiscal stimulus measures pose an additional risk.

"While these factors may dampen growth in the second half of 2010 and result in an uneven recovery, the likelihood of a return to recessionary conditions is low in the absence of further financial shocks," MTI said.