DBS economists Radhika Rao and Mo Ji forecast Singapore’s advance 2Q26 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth at 5.8% year-on-year and 1.5% quarter-on-quarter seasonally adjusted, slightly below 1Q26 but still resilient. They cite strong manufacturing and wholesale trade on AI-related electronics demand, robust modern services and construction, and expect non-oil domestic exports to post a fourth consecutive month of double-digit growth despite a slowdown from May.

AI demand underpins growth outlook

"We expect Singapore’s advance GDP growth estimate for 2Q26 to register 5.8% yoy, 1.5% qoq sa, remaining resilient compared with 6.0% yoy, 1.0% qoq sa in 1Q26."

"Manufacturing accelerated, while wholesale trade performed well despite some moderation, driven by robust 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 picked up."

"The ongoing construction boom also underpinned domestic resilience."

"We see Singapore’s non-oil domestic exports (NODX) growing at a double-digit rate for the fourth consecutive month, albeit at 25.0% yoy in June, compared with 38.4% yoy in May."

(This article was created with the help of an Artificial Intelligence tool and reviewed by an editor. Know more.)