Economists cut growth forecasts for Singapore economy

Private sector economists and analysts expected the Singapore economy to grow by 2.3 percent this year, according to the results of a survey released by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on Wednesday. This represents a downgrade from the median forecast of 2.8 percent in a previous survey in March. The Ministry of Trade and Industry has said it expected the Singapore economy to grow by 1 to 3 percent this year. The survey, based on the forecasts submitted by 22 respondents, showed that they significantly downgraded their growth forecasts for the manufacturing sector from 3.3 percent to 1.2 percent. The growth forecast for the finance and insurance sector, however, was upgraded from 3 percent to 6.1 percent. The current survey also finds that the economists expect the private consumption to grow by 2.3 percent, in comparison with the previous forecast of 2.8 percent. The forecast for non-oil domestic product, the key gauge of Singapore's export performance, was cut from 4 percent to 2.5 percent. The GDP growth forecast for the second quarter was also downgraded from 2 percent to 1.5 percent. Singapore's economy expanded by 0.2 percent in the first quarter, lower than the median forecast of 0.8 percent reported in the March Survey. The forecast for the headline inflation for this year was cut from 3.8 percent to 2.8 percent. The unemployment rate is expected to be 2 percent at the year-end, reflecting a tight labor market.