Gloomy prospects for Singapore's 3Q2020 GDP, despite improvements in manufacturing activity and retail sales: CGS-CIMB

Singapore’s GDP is slated to contract between 4.5% and 5.5% year-on-year in the ongoing 3Q2020 which ends on September 30, CGS-CIMB Securities estimates.

This is “weaker than our initial forecast of a 3.5% decline [and is] based on a diet of data that has already been released for July and August,” explain economists Michelle Chia and Lim Yee Ping in a September 28 note.

For instance, Singapore’s manufacturing activity staged a surprising 13.7% year-on-year rebound in August, from a 7.6% contraction seen the previous month.