According to a survey by Monetary Authority of Singapore, economists now expect the country’s economy to grow only 0.6% this year. That’s sharply lower than 1.5% growth as expected in the previous survey in December. That is within the government’s forecast range of -0.5% to 1.5%.
The respondents were also pessimistic across all key sectors. Manufacturing is expected to contract by -0.3% this year, versus prior forecast of 0.7% growth. Wholesale and retail are expected to contract by -0.7%, comparing to prior forecast of 0.4%. Accommodation of food services would contract -1.6%, versus prior forecast of 2.1%.
Finance and insurance are expected to growth 2.5%, lower than prior forecast of 3.5%. Construction is expected to grow 2.4%, just slightly revised down from 2.5%.
