Singapore’s economic growth this year is expected to come in at 3.3%, according to private-sector economists polled in a quarterly survey by the Monetary Authority of Singapore released on Wednesday. This forecast is higher than the 2.5% median forecast in the previous survey.
In November, the government forecast full-year growth for the economy of 3 to 3.5%, an upward revision from an earlier range of 2 to 3%, CNA reported.
The Singapore economy expanded by 5.2% in the third quarter of the year compared with the same period last year, marking the strongest quarterly expansion since 2013.
Manufacturing is expected to grow even more than previously predicted, with economists surveyed forecasting growth of 10.6%, up from their 6.6% growth prediction in September’s survey. The finance and insurance industry is expected to post growth of 3.7%, an increase from the 2.9% growth predicted previously.
In contrast, the growth forecast for the construction sector was cut even more, with economists predicting the sector will contract by 7.6%, a further contraction from the 4.2% decline predicted in the last survey.
The accommodation and food services sector is forecast to contract by 1.5%, unchanged from September’s prediction, while the wholesale and retail trade sector is expected to do better than previously forecast with growth of 1.7%, an increase from the 1.3% predicted in the last survey.
Economists also raised their forecast for non-oil domestic exports, predicting growth of 9%, up from the 7.4% in the previous forecast.
Inflation for 2017 is predicted to come in at 0.6%, a slight decrease from the 0.8% predicted in the last survey. Core inflation—which excludes accommodation and car prices—is expected to come in at 1.5%, down slightly from the 1.6% forecast in September.
The unemployment rate is expected to be 2.2% at the end of the year, unchanged from the previous survey.
For 2018, respondents expect GDP growth to hit 3%, while inflation is projected to come in at 1% and core inflation at 1.6%.
