Economists cut Singapore growth forecasts from 6.2 to 5.3%

A quarterly survey shows private sector economists downgrading their forecasts for the gross domestic product growth of Singapore. This was announced by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

The economists now expect the Singapore economy to expand by 5.3 percent this year, down from 6.2 percent for the previous survey.

The manufacturing sector got the biggest downgrade with 5.3 percent, down from 8 percent for the previous survey. The forecasts for the construction sector was also cut from 3.5 percent to 2.1 percent.

However, the economists are more bullish about the financial services sector, expecting it to grow 9.6 percent, compared with a previous 8.8 percent.

Inflation is expected to average 4.5 percent this year, compared with 4.1 percent previously. Unemployment rate is expected to be at 2.2 percent by the end of the year, up from the previous 2 percent.

They expect the Singapore economy to grow 4.9 percent in 2012, with inflation easing to 2.8 percent.

View the report in Xinhua News.