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Economists lower Singapore growth forecast

Xinhua, June 17, 2015 Adjust font size:

Economists are now less upbeat about the growth outlook for the Singapore economy this year, and have moderated their growth expectations for several sectors, according to a quarterly survey released by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on Wednesday.

The economists polled in the survey said they expect Singapore' s economy to grow by 2.7 percent this year, down slightly from the median forecast of 2.8 percent in the previous survey in March.

This is despite gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the first quarter that was higher than expected. The economy expanded by 2.6 percent during the quarter, higher than the median forecast of 2 percent in the previous survey.

Manufacturing is now expected to grow by 0.5 percent this year, down from the 1.8 percent growth in the previous survey. The finance and insurance industry is expected to grow 7 percent, down from 7.5 percent, while the accommodation and food services sector is expected to grow 1 percent, down from 2.3 percent.

Forecasts for the construction sector and the wholesale and retail trade sector were revised upwards. Both sectors are expected to grow 3.3 percent this year, up from 2 percent and 2.2 percent, respectively.

For Q2 2015, survey respondents said they expect GDP to expand by 2.7 percent. In comparison, the forecast was 2.8 percent in the March survey. Endi