Singapore entered its first recession since 2002 after its economy contracted for the second-straight quarter, prompting its government to revise downward its projections of the city-state's 2008 economic growth, dpa reported.
Singapore's gross domestic product shrank at an annualized rate of 6.3 per cent in the July-September quarter, compared with the second quarter, when the prosperous South-East Asian city's economy contracted 5.7 per cent, the Trade and Industry Ministry said.
In real, year-on-year terms, the third-quarter slowdown was measured at 0.5 per cent.
The ministry also revised downward its projection of the city-state's economic growth for this year to 3 per cent from an August estimate of 4 to 5 per cent in the wake of the worst financial crisis the world has faced since the Great Depression.
The crisis has weighed heavily on Singapore's export-oriented manufacturers as it has hit some of the city-state's biggest customers in the United States and Europe.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore, its central bank, predicted that a recovery could be seen in the last half of 2009, depending on how global trade conditions evolve.