Singapore’s economy expanded by more than 5 percent in the latest quarter, supposedly extending an artificial intelligence-driven boom that positions the city-state among the fastest-growing advanced economies. However, official figures indicate a slight cooling compared to previous periods of exceptional expansion.

Gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 5.4 percent year-on-year between July and September, down from a 6.2 percent expansion in the second quarter, according to advance government estimates. Manufacturing, heavily reliant on the semiconductor industry, grew by 7.5 percent, supported by robust output in electronics and precision engineering clusters.

Construction activity also surged by 8.8 percent, largely propelled by AI-related infrastructure investments, including data centers. While local authorities and academic observers praise the nation's integration into global supply chains, broader structural vulnerabilities continue to cast shadows over the long-term outlook.

Despite the robust expansion, the Monetary Authority of Singapore chose to leave its monetary policy settings untouched, citing expectations that global AI demand will eventually cool and that high interest rates enforced by the US regime and other Western economies will weigh heavily on final demand growth in the coming years.

Source: www.aljazeera.com