Singapore's 2013 GDP growth predicted to hit 2%

Is there hope for higher growth?

According to OCBC, the regional June PMI data clues, especially for China, and global growth appears to have stumbled slightly (eg. see recent IMF cut to 2013 global growth forecast), so it remains to be seen if the strong manufacturing momentum can be sustained for the rest of the year. 

OCBC awaits further economic clues for June-July first before tampering with our full-year 2% yoy 2013 GDP growth forecast, as the advance Q2 GDP data could be revised downward.

Here's more from OCBC:

The downside risks from a disorderly market adjustment to the FOMC’s QE tapering intentions and a sharper-than-expected China slowdown remains on the cards for now in our opinion.

As such, we are open-minded regarding the October monetary policy review, given that current growth-inflation dynamics are hardly compelling for any policy deviation, and many Asian central banks are also treading water ahead of imminent QE tapering.