Singapore's economy ended on a low note last year, and economists say the downward trend is likely to drag on during 2019.

The slowest quarter of growth in 2018 was recorded for the October to December period, at 2.2 per cent year on year, flash estimates by the Ministry of Trade and Industry yesterday showed.

This comes amid global trade tensions and slowing manufacturing demand.

Overall, the Singapore economy grew by 3.3 per cent for the whole of last year, down from 2017's 3.6 per cent.

Economists noted that the drag in the manufacturing sector here has partly spilt over to services producing industries, which saw a 1.9 per cent year-on-year growth, compared with 2.6 per cent growth in the previous quarter.

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