* Advance Q2 GDP leaps 20.4 pct s/adj vs 16.4 pct poll f'cast
* Q2 GDP falls 3.7 pct y/y vs Reuters poll of -5.0 pct
* Advance Q2 GDP shows recession has ended
SINGAPORE, July 14 (Reuters) - The Singapore government released on Tuesday preliminary data of gross domestic product (GDP) in the second quarter of 2009: (PCT) 2Q09 1Q09 4Q08 3Q08 2Q08 1Q08 4Q07 3Q07 SAAR* 20.4 -12.7 -16.4 -2.1 -7.7 12.2 -1.6 8.3 YoY** -3.7 -9.6 -4.2 0.0 2.5 6.7 5.5 9.5 ---------------------------------------------------------------- -- * seasonally adjusted, annualised rate ** year on year
CONTEXT
* A surge in drug production helped lift growth in the second quarter, ending a series of four quarters of falling GDP and pulling the economy out of recession. However, pharmaceutical output trends are volatile, and concerns remain over how quickly consumer demand will recover in major Western export markets for other key goods such as electronics.
* Singapore revised up its 2009 forecast for the economy to a contraction of 4 to 6 percent from a previous forecast of a 6 to 9 percent fall.
* Singapore's finance minister said on July 7 that Singapore and the world economy have not yet started to recover from the financial crisis and that any pickup in growth will be slower than in previous recessions. (Reporting by Nopporn Wong-Anan; Editing by Neil Chatterjee)