Singapore's gross domestic product is expected to increase by 0.7 percent in the latest Monetary Authority of Singapore's survey released on Wednesday, December 11. This forecast is higher than the expected growth of 0.6 percent which was forecasted in the previous survey. After the rise in the third quarter, the private sector economists have raised their outlook for the country's economy.
This is also seen as a reflection of the Ministry of Trade and Industry which announced last month that the expected growth rate would be 0.5 to 1 percent and raised the lower end in the previous forecast with a range of 0 to 1 percent. The revised forecast showed the expected growth at 0.5 percent in the third quarter while the previous one, as projected by the respondents, the growth was to be at 0.3 percent.
Revised forecast will affect the manufacturing sector
The revised forecast is set to affect the manufacturing sector as the predicted decline rate will moderate from 2.4 percent to 1.4 percent. According to the prediction, the wholesale and retail sector looks pessimistic with rates the slide forecast at -3 percent from the previous -2.8 percent.
The finance and insurance sector is expected to grow by 4.1 percent which has dropped from the previous prediction of 4.3 percent. The last survey also predicted the growth in the construction to be at 2.7 percent while economists predict that it would expand by 2.8 percent.
Growth in food and accommodation sector will be double
The economists also predict that the growth in the food and accommodation sector will double this quarter compared to the previous survey conducted in September. The present survey talks about the escalating issues regarding trade, particularly between the US and China. According to the respondents, this topped the list of downside risks.
Other risks included a slowdown in China's economic growth, cited by 43.8 percent of respondents in the December survey as compared to the previous 50 percent. The economists believe that there will be a growth of 1.5 percent in the Singapore economy in the year 2020 which is a slight down from the previous survey which predicted a 1.6 percent. The forecast range has tightened since the last prediction from 1 to 1.9 percent to 1.5 to 1.9 percent.
