Singapore's Q2 GDP in slight miss as manufacturing slows

Singapore's trade-reliant economy grew slightly slower than expected in the second quarter on a softer manufacturing sector, keeping pressure on the central bank to further ease monetary policy in the face of sluggish global demand and concerns over Brexit.

The economy expanded 0.8 per cent in the April-June period from the previous three months on an annualized and seasonally adjusted basis, the Ministry of Trade and Industry said on Thursday in a statement.

That compared with a 0.9 per cent rise forecast in a Reuters poll.

Gross domestic product grew 2.2 per cent in the second quarter from a year earlier, meeting the median forecast of a 2.2 per cent expansion in the survey.