Economists raise Singapore's 2017 growth forecast to 2.5 pct

By：Xinhua Update：2017-06-14

Private-sector economists polled in the survey of professional forecasts raised Singapore's 2017 growth forecast from 2.3 percent to 2.5 percent, according to the survey result issued by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on Wednesday.

The new forecast was made after Singapore achieved a 2.7 percent economic growth in the first quarter, which is higher than the earlier forecast of 2.6 percent.

The result of the MAS-run survey shows the most likely outcome is for the Singapore economy to grow by between 2.0 and 2.9 percent this year. Meanwhile, the median CPI inflation forecast for 2017 as a whole is 0.9 percent, and the unemployment rate will be 2.4 percent at the end of 2017.

For the second quarter of 2017, the respondents expect the GDP will expand 2.7 percent, and the CPI will rise 0.7 percent. For 2018, their median GDP forecast is a 2.5 percent growth, the CPI All-Items is expected to grow 1.4 percent, and the most likely outcome for the Singapore economy is expected to grow by 2.0 to 2.9 percent.