SINGAPORE — Singapore’s economy grew 3.4 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2022, according to advance estimates released by the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) on Thursday (April 14).

This marked a slower pace than the previous quarter when the economy expanded 6.1 per cent. Economists polled by Reuters had expected growth of 3.8 per cent.

On a quarter-on-quarter seasonally adjusted basis, Singapore’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew 0.4 per cent in the first quarter, slower than the 2.3 per cent in the preceding quarter.

The advance GDP estimates are computed largely from data gathered in the first two months of the quarter.

"They are intended as an early indication of GDP growth in the quarter and are subject to revision when more comprehensive data become available," said MTI.

Covid-19 caseloads surged at the start of the year due to the Omicron variant. With numbers falling last month, Singapore eased many of its safe management measures.

These include allowing more people to dine out together and permitting fully vaccinated travellers to enter without having to quarantine.

Singapore's economy grew 7.6 per cent last year, the fastest pace in more than a decade, recovering from a 4.1 per cent contraction in pandemic-hit 2020.

Authorities have projected growth of 3 per cent to 5 per cent this year. CNA