Singapore's gross domestic product (GDP) fell a record 41.2% in the second quarter from the previous quarter, preliminary economic data released by the Ministry of Trade and Industry showed Wednesday. Hit by coVID-19, Singapore is facing its worst recession since its founding.

Economists polled by Reuters had expected Singapore's economy to decline 37.4 per cent in the second quarter, but the coVID-19 has hit the construction industry hard, sending it down 95.6 per cent.

Preliminary data from Singapore's Trade and Industry Ministry showed GDP fell 12.6 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier, more than the 10.5 percent decline economists had forecast.

The figures, which meet the technical definition of recession, mark the second consecutive quarter of contraction. Singapore's ministry of Trade and Industry forecasts the economy could shrink by 4-7 per cent this year.

"We could see a modest pick-up in activity in the third quarter as Singapore's economy restarts," said Selena Lam, head of fiscal research and strategy at OCBC. We think there will be some progress in the third quarter, but it will remain in contraction territory."

Singapore's ruling People's Action Party has just won the 13th parliamentary election. The PAP says protecting jobs is the top priority.

To prevent the spread of the disease, Singapore authorities adopted "lockdown" measures between April and June, closing almost all workplaces in the city-state. Analysts have predicted that Singapore's trade-dependent economy will contract sharply in the second quarter.