The prime minister of Singapore, Goh Chok Tong, has released economic figures which show that the country is in recession.

In a New Year address, he said the economy had contracted for a second consecutive quarter -- the benchmark for recession defined by the International Monetary Fund.

But Mr Goh said economic growth for the entire year was one-point-three per cent, and he described this as being not a bad performance considering the unfavourble economic climate caused by the Asian financial crisis.

He went on to say that 1999 would be another difficult year for the economy.