Official data from Singapore’s business showed on Thursday that the economy expanded more quickly than expected in the first quarter, driven by stronger global demand as businesses fought back against higher US tariffs. However, the government cautioned that a full-fledged trade war between the United States and China might still rage after the 90-day wait was over. In the three weeks to March, Singapore’s trade-focused market increased by 3.9 percent over the same period last year, surpassing the government’s improve measure of 3.8 percent. However, it was less than the 5 % rise in the December fourth. Additionally, the business decreased by 0.6 % on a quarter-on-quarter base, indicating the challenges that lie away. According to the industry department, the production and wholesale industry sectors contributed to the first quarter’s year-over-year growth as a result of “front-loading activities ahead of expected US tariff increases.” Singapore is vulnerable to a global economic slowdown due to the city-state’s high reliance on foreign industry, which is why US President Donald Trump imposed a baseline 10 % tax on the island nation. Trump suspended the higher taxes for 90 days in April, with the exception of China, despite recent discussions between Washington and Beijing spüring hope that the country’s two biggest economy will come to terms with them. The industry ministry stated that despite recent positive developments, the global financial outlook is still impacted by substantial uncertainty and the risk is being inversely correlated with the risks. According to the report, confusion will probably cause less money to be spent as households and businesses start a “wait-and-see” strategy. The ministry kept its forecast for this year’s economic growth to be between 0 % and 2 %. This was lower than the previous forecast for growth of between one and three percentage.
