Singapore's economy forecast to grow 2.5 pct in 2019: survey

SINGAPORE, March 13 (Xinhua) -- The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced in a report on Wednesday that professional forecasters downgraded Singapore's 2019 growth forecast from previously predicted 2.6 percent to 2.5 percent.

They also forecast that Singapore's 2020 economic growth would reach 2.4 percent.

The MAS said the report reflects the views received from 23 respondents including economists and analysts and does not represent MAS' views or forecasts.

Singapore's Ministry of Trade and Industry announced last month that it maintained the GDP growth forecast at 1.5 to 3.5 percent, with growth expected to come in slightly below the mid-point of the forecast range.

However, according to the result of the survey, as reflected by the mean probability distribution, the most likely outcome is for the Singapore economy to grow by between 2-2.9 percent this year, with respondents assigning almost equal probabilities to the ranges of 2.0-2.4 percent and 2.5-2.9 percent.

The result of the MAS-run survey also shows that Singapore's CPI-All Items inflation and MAS Core inflation, which excludes the costs of accommodation and private road transport, are forecast to reach 1.1 percent and 1.7 percent respectively in 2019. As for the labor market, the respondents expect the unemployment rate to hit 2.2 percent at year-end.