The country’s Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said on August 11 that given the fall, it now forecasts this year’s gross domestic product (GDP) will shrink between 7 percent and 5 percent, instead of the previously predicted decline of 4 to 7 percent.
The second-quarter GDP plunge was due to the circuit breaker measures implemented from April 7 to June 1 to slow the spread of COVID-19 in Singapore, as well as weak external demand amid a global economic downturn caused by the pandemic, said MTI in a statement.
Singapore's central bank eased its monetary policy in March, while the government recently pumped in nearly SGD100 billion (US$72 billion) worth of stimulus to blunt the impact of the pandemic.
