Analysts cut Singapore growth forecast in 2016: Survey

With the manufacturing sector, together with the finance and insurance sector, expected to contract further, analysts have lowered forecast for Singapore's economy growth this year from 2.2 percent to 1.9 percent, according to Wednesday's quarterly survey by the MAS.

According to the Monetary Authority of Singapore survey, which polled 24 analysts who closely monitor the economy, manufacturing sector is expected to contract by 2.7 percent this year, worse than the 1.2 percent contraction forecast in the previous survey, Xinhua reported.

The analysts also cut the growth forecast for finance and insurance sector from 5.9 percent in the December survey to 3.6 percent this time.

However, they showed confidence in the construction sector, which they expected to grow 2.6 percent, higher than the 1.2 percent in the previous survey.

Overall, the analysts expect GDP to expand by 2.5 percent in 2017. This is in line with the forecast by the Ministry of Trade and Investment in February, which said the Singapore economy is expected to grow at a modest pace of one to three percent in 2016.

For inflation, analysts expect the Consumer Price Index-All Items to come in at minus 0.2 percent, much lower than the 0.5 percent growth in the December survey.

Core inflation, which excludes accommodation and private road transport costs, is expected to grow 0.8 percent, also less than the one percent in the previous survey.

Singapore's economy grew two percent in 2015, the slowest since 2009.