File photo taken on June 4, 2020 shows dark clouds looming over the central area of Singapore. Singapore's Ministry of Trade and Industry announced on Tuesday morning that based on advance estimates, the country's GDP for the second quarter fell 12.6 percent year on year, compared to a 0.3-percent decline in the first quarter. (Photo by Then Chih Wey/Xinhua)

Singapore's Ministry of Trade and Industry announced on Tuesday morning that based on advance estimates, the country's GDP for the second quarter fell 12.6 percent year on year, compared to a 0.3-percent decline in the first quarter.

The ministry attributes the GDP contraction to the Circuit Breaker (CB) measures that were implemented from April 7 to June 1 to slow the spread of COVID-19, which included the suspension of nonessential services and closure of most workplace premises, as well as weak external demand amidst a global economic downturn precipitated by the pandemic.

On a quarter-on-quarter seasonally-adjusted annualized basis, Singapore's economy shrank by 41.2 percent in the second quarter.

In a breakdown, Singapore's manufacturing sector expanded by 2.5 percent year on year in the second quarter, thanks to a surge in output in the biomedical manufacturing cluster. The construction sector contracted by 54.7 percent year on year, a significant deterioration from the 1.1 percent decline in the previous quarter.

Meanwhile, the services-producing industries contracted by 13.6 percent year on year, steeper than the 2.4-percent decrease in the previous quarter.

The advanced GDP estimate figure released on Tuesday were computed largely from data in the first two months of the quarter, according to the ministry. These figures are intended as an early indication of the GDP growth in the quarter and are subject to revision when more comprehensive data become available.

The ministry said it will release the preliminary GDP estimates for the second quarter this August.