Here's a really bad news for Singapore's 1Q flash GDP number

The forecast is pegged at -0.6%.

According to Nomura, the market appears to be complacent about the poor first quarter flash GDP number of negative 0.6%, rationalizing that with the recovery in the US and now Japan, economic growth will start to improve as well.

The fact is that the manufacturing sector has been in decline over the past eight quarters and domestic demand has been providing the support for the economy.

Here's more from Nomura:

We may not see a strong recovery in exports, given the constraints from a tightening labor market and a strong Singaporean dollar.

Meanwhile, Singapore's electronic sector may not be positioned for the demand in the electronics sector which has been driven by tablets and smartphones.

March's latest industrial demand number, which fell 4.1%, continued to point to sluggishness in manufacturing.

Industrial production was supported by higher medical output, which progressed 16.2%.

Electronics output remained weak, contracting 7.2% YoY in March.

On the back of the weaker than expected March IP number, we downgraded our GDP forecast for Singapore from 2.4% to 1.5%.

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