​Singapore, April 14 (IANS) The Singapore economy rose 1.8 percent year-on-year in the first quarter, the same growth pace as in the previous quarter, according to estimates released by the ministry of trade and industry (MTI) on Thursday.

Growth was flat on a quarter-on-quarter seasonally-adjusted annualised basis, in contrast to a 6.2-percent expansion in the preceding quarter, Xinhua news agency reported.

The manufacturing sector contracted 2.0 percent year-on-year in the first quarter, following a 6.7-percent decline in the previous quarter. The sector was primarily weighed down by a decline in the output of the transport engineering, precision engineering and electronics clusters.

On a quarter-on-quarter seasonally-adjusted annualised basis, the sector rebounded to a growth of 18.2 percent, compared to a 4.9-percent contraction in the preceding quarter.

The construction sector expanded 6.2 percent in the first quarter, an improvement from 4.9 percent recorded in the previous quarter. The stronger growth in the sector was supported by both public and private sector construction activities. On a quarter-on-quarter seasonally-adjusted annualised basis, the sector grew 10.2 percent, accelerating from 6.0 percent in the preceding quarter.

The services producing industries rose 1.9 percent, easing from 2.8 percent in the previous quarter. Growth was supported mainly by the wholesale and retail trade and finance amd insurance sectors. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the services producing industries contracted at an annualised rate of 3.8 percent, a reversal from a 7.7-percent expansion in the preceding quarter.

MTI said it will release the preliminary GDP estimates for the January-March period, including performance by sectors, sources of growth, inflation, employment and productivity, in its Economic Survey of Singapore in May. ​