国际英语新闻：Singapore's economy expands 18.8% in Q2

SINGAPORE, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- In the second quarter of 2010, Singapore's economy expanded by 18.8 percent on a year-on-year basis, stronger than the 16.9 percent growth in the first quarter, official data showed on Tuesday.

On a seasonally adjusted quarter-on-quarter annualized basis, gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 24.0 percent for the second quarter, following a surge of 45.7 percent in the previous quarter, according to the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI).

In the first half of 2010, real GDP grew by 17.9 percent, compared with a 2.8 percent rise in the second half of 2009. The MTI said the GDP growth forecast for 2010 maintained at 13.0 to 15. 0 percent.

The MTI said the global economy is expected to remain on a modest recovery path, albeit one that will continue to ease for the rest of the year.

The U.S. economy has continued to grow in the second quarter of 2010, but at a slower pace due to lower growth in private consumption expenditure and a decline in the boost from inventory adjustment. The weakness in the U.S. labor and housing markets, combined with a decline in consumer confidence will affect household spending.

Within the EU, although the results of stress tests on commercial banks and secured debt financing in Greece have momentarily quelled market concerns, circumstances involving the southern European economies remain frail. Recovery in final demand in the EU is therefore expected to remain sluggish.

Countries in Asia have been affected by the slowdown in external demand. China's growth momentum moderated in the second quarter with real GDP growth lower than the previous quarter.

For Singapore's economy, the MTI said strong growth momentum in the first half of 2010 is not likely to continue into the second half of the year, although growth rates will remain healthy. Anticipated plant maintenance shutdowns in the biomedical manufacturing cluster will also drag down overall growth.