Electronics, which makes up 30 per cent of manufacturing, will continue its slide as firms scale down IT spending and defer outlays on tech upgrades.

The usually buoyant holiday season will offer scant relief for exporters since tech sales are likely to be lacklustre with consumers in major markets playground equipment tightening their belts.

China, which analysts expect to grow at 7 to 8 per cent, is unlikely to give Singapore a boost because its recent contribution to export growth has been relatively small, said the MAS.

Tourism, with visitor arrivals in their third inflatable bouncers straight month of decline, is likely to be hit further as travellers from the region forgo holidays here.

The crisis has battered consumer sentiment and affected the financial services sector, property and real estate services, and shop and restaurant owners.

Cautious investors are choosing to put their money naughty castles in safe assets or hoard cash, weakening the local wealth management industry. Asian hedge funds have also been hit by redemptions, forcing them to offload assets.

 But the MAS believes that the domestic fund management industry has 'underlying strength with the ongoing structural wealth generation in Asia'.

Household wealth has been affected by falling inflatable asset prices so retail sales will be hit as consumers cut back spending. This will mean retailers could see slower business towards Christmas and into 2009, said the MAS.

One spot of relief is that the pharmaceuticals sector may offer some moderate cushion next year when two new facilities - belonging to Abbott and Novartis - are expected to open.

The drug-making industry largely operates on inflatable castles its own supply cycle, but has generally been weak this year due to a delay in new drug approvals from the US and competition from generic medicines.

The industry is also notoriously volatile. Last month's manufacturing figures were boosted by a surprising rebound in pharmaceutical output.

Another sector bucking the trend is construction, which will likely ride out 2009 well as backlogged projects awarded from previous quarters get under inflatable slides way, MAS said. Large-scale private sector projects like the integrated resorts and the Marina Bay financial centre will also keep the industry busy through 2010.

However, construction's share of GDP is small so any contribution to overall growth will be limited.