Economists cut GDP growth forecast to 0.6% : MAS survey

Q3 growth is expected to come in at an average of 0.3%.

Economists surveyed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore cut their 2019 growth forecasts to 0.6% from the earlier projected 2.1% in June.

The most likely outcome was estimated at a 0.5-0.9% range, lower than in the previous survey at 2.0-2.4%.  

In addition, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation for all items and MAS Core Inflation for 2019 are expected to slow to 0.7% and 1.2%, respectively, from 0.9% and 1.4% in the previous poll.

In line with this, the estimated growth in Q3 is expected to come in at 0.3% YoY. Escalating US-China trade tensions and further slowdown in China were cited by the respondents as their top concerns.

The Q3 forecast reported a median of 0.6% and 1.0% YoY respectively.

Singapore's GDP growth slowed down to 0.1% in Q2, lower than the previously projected 1.6%.

By 2020, the economy is expected to grow to 1.6%, with a growth outcome within the the 1.0-1.9% range, lower than the 2.0-2.4% estimate in the previous survey.

For 2020, CPI-All Items inflation is projected at 1.0%, whilst MAS Core Inflation is expected to be 1.3%.