The Singapore economy grew by 0. 5 percent year on year in the second quarter, according to flash estimates released by the Ministry of Trade and Industry on Thursday.

The growth was slightly lower than market expectations of around one percent.

The slower growth was partly due to the high base effect and a weaker manufacturing sector.

The manufacturing sector contracted by 5.5 percent year on year, after expanding by 16.4 percent in the first quarter. On a seasonally adjusted quarter-on-quarter basis, the sector contracted by an annualized rate of 22.5 percent, "largely reflecting a decline in the biomedical manufacturing cluster, as some companies switched to producing a different value-mix of active pharmaceutical ingredients during the quarter," the ministry said.

Output in the electronics cluster also fell, partly due to an easing in global demand for semiconductor chips.

The construction sector grew by 1.6 percent, while the services sector grew by 3.3 percent.

The Singapore economy grew by 8.3 percent year on year in the first quarter.