Singapore flags recession as economy shrinks sharply in first quarter due to virus

Sharpest drop in 10 years: On a quarter-on-quarter basis, GDP contracted 10.6%, the Ministry of Trade and Industry said in a statement, the sharpest drop since the third quarter of 2010 and well below economists' expectations for a 6.3% contraction.

SINGAPORE: Singapore's economy shrank 2.2% in the first quarter from a year earlier, preliminary data showed on Thursday, its biggest contraction in over a decade as the coronavirus outbreak prompted the city-state to plan for a recession.

The grim data is likely to add to fears that the global economy will contract in the first half of the year.

Singapore is one of the world's most open economies and one of the first to report quarterly growth data since the virus spread from China at the start of the year.