SINGAPORE - The economy grew 1.4 per cent in the third quarter, beating economists' estimates by a hair's breadth and just barely escaping a technical recesson, advance estimates out on Wednesday (Oct 14) showed.

Economists had tipped a 1.2 per cent year-on-year expansion for the July to September quarter, amid a marked growth slowdown in China, hazy conditions, and turbulent stock market activity.

The economy grew 0.1 per cent quarter-on-quarter, escaping a technical recession - two straight quarter-on-quarter declines in economic output - which had been widely predicted by analysts.

The manufacturing sector was the biggest drag on growth, contracting 6 per cent in the third quarter over the same period a year ago. This follows a 4.9 per cent decline in the previous quarter.

This was offset by growth in the services and construction sectors, though expansion in these industries also moderated.

Growth in the services producing industries came in at 3 per cent year-on-year, slower than the 3.6 per cent growth in the previous quarter.

The moderation in growth was largely due to a slower pace of expansion in the wholesale and retail trade, and finance and insurance sectors.

The construction sector expanded by 1.6 per cent over the same period a year ago, from 2 per cent in the preceding quarter. The slowdown was mainly due to weaker private sector construction activities.