Singapore economy to grow by 2.7% this year: MAS Survey

SINGAPORE — Private sector economists have lowered their forecast for second quarter economic growth in the latest survey by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).

The quarterly MAS survey of 23 economists, which was released today (June 17), showed that they expect the economy to grow by 2.7 per cent between April and this month, compared to the earlier projection of 2.9 per cent in the previous survey conducted in March.

For the whole year, the economists expected gross domestic product (GDP) to grow by 2.7 per cent, down marginally from 2.8 per cent compared to their earlier forecast.

Headline inflation for the year is expected to be flat while core inflation, which excludes accommodation costs and private road transport, is predicted to be 1 per cent.

In the March survey, the economists expected the economy to grow by 2 per cent in the first three months of the year. Official data released last month showed that GDP expanded by 2.6 per cent during this period.