Falling demand from US and Europe hurts Singapore

Singapore: Singapore's economy contracted in the third quarter as falling consumer demand from the US and Europe hurt manufacturing exports and pushed the city-state to the brink of recession, the Trade and Industry Ministry said on Friday. Gross domestic product (GDP) fell 0.5 per cent in the July-September period from the same quarter a year ago, the ministry said. The government cut its 2008 economic growth forecast to three per cent from between four and five per cent, the ministry said. "There's no question that growth will continue to slow down,' said Yuwa Hedrick-Wong, economic adviser in Asia for MasterCard Worldwide. "2009 is likely to be a very difficult year." Singapore's economy, heavily dependent on exports, is among the first in Asia to bear the brunt of an economic slowdown in the world's developed countries.... [read full story]