DBS economists Radhika Rao and Mo Jie forecast Singapore’s 2Q26 gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate at 5.8% year-on-year and seasonally adjusted quarter-on-quarter at 1.5%, slightly lower than 1Q26 but still resilient. They cite strong manufacturing and wholesale trade on AI-related electronics demand, strong modern services and construction, and expect non-oil domestic exports to post double-digit growth for the fourth consecutive month despite a slowdown since May.
AI demand underpins growth outlook
“We expect Singapore’s advance GDP growth forecast for 2Q26 to remain resilient at 5.8% y-o-y, 1.5% q-o-q sa, compared to 6.0% y-o-y, 1.0% q-o-q sa in 1Q26.”
“Manufacturing picked up, while wholesale trade performed well despite some softness due to strong global demand for artificial intelligence (AI)-related electronics.”
“Modern services remained resilient, supported by continued momentum in the financial sector, as securities trading activity and credit growth accelerated.”
“The ongoing construction boom has also strengthened household resilience.”
“We see Singapore’s non-oil domestic exports (NODX) growing at double-digit rates for the fourth consecutive month, although in June it stood at 25.0% y-o-y, compared to 38.4% y-o-y in May.”
(This article was created with the help of an artificial intelligence tool and reviewed by an editor. know more.)
