SINGAPORE - The Government trimmed full-year growth in 2015 and said the global economy is expected to pick up next year but this might have a limited impact on Singapore, officials said on Wednesday (Nov 25).

Economic growth will come in at "close to 2 per cent" for the whole of this year, narrowed from an earlier forecast of between 2 and 2.5 per cent, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said.

MTI said the growth outlook for Singapore remains "modest" going into 2016, with the economy forecast to expand between 1 and 3 per cent next year.

But the good news is that Singapore escaped a technical recession in the third quarter.

MTI's revised Q3 growth figures showed the economy grew 1.9 per cent in the July to September quarter over the same period a year ago - higher than its earlier estimate of 1.4 per cent.

Growth in the third quarter was supported mainly by services industries, as the manufacturing sector continued to falter.

Manufacturing, which makes up a fifth of Singapore's economy, contracted 6.2 per cent over the same quarter a year ago.

Global growth is expected to improve next year as developed economies such as the United States and euro zone continue to pick up pace, MTI said.

However, this might not translate into a significant lift for Singapore and its regional neighbours.

China's slowing growth, the services-driven nature of growth in the US, and the trend of in-sourcing in China and the US will dampen external demand for Singapore's exports.