SINGAPORE marked its worst ever recession in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, although contraction moderated in the fourth quarter as the city-state lifted more coronavirus-related curbs, putting the economy on path to a slow and patchy recovery.

The financial and transport hub was hit hard last year by local virus-related restrictions, border closures around the world and a sluggish global economy.

The bellwether economy shrank 5.8 percent in 2020, preliminary data showed yesterday, slightly better than the official forecast for a contraction of between 6.5 percent and 6 percent. The government has previously said it expects gross domestic product (GDP) to grow 4 percent to 6 percent this year.

The city-state has eased most of its coronavirus rules, although its borders remain largely shut. It began its COVID-19 inoculation program last week, and the government is keen to open more of the economy with the help of the vaccine in a country dependent on travel and trade.

“Recovery going forward in 2021 will probably continue to be quite gradual,” said Barclays regional economist Brian Tan. “And a lot of it will depend on the speed at which the government can distribute the COVID vaccines and whether or not this can allow us to reopen the borders more quickly.”

GDP contracted 3.8 percent in the October-December period year on year, the ministry of trade and industry said, an improvement over the 5.6 percent drop in the third quarter. Economists polled had expected a decline of 4.5 percent, according to the median of their forecasts. (SD-Agencies)