Better showing for trade sector; IE maintains forecasts

[SINGAPORE] Even though the trade sector improved in the first quarter, the government is not raising its 2014 growth forecasts for trade and non-oil domestic exports (NODX).

Trade promotion agency International Enterprise (IE) Singapore said yesterday that it was maintaining its earlier growth projections of 1 to 3 per cent for both.

Though the global economy is likely to be in better shape this year than it was in 2013, especially in the developed markets, IE Singapore said downside risks remained. It pointed to "the pace of QE (quantitative easing) tapering" in the United States and "the ongoing restructuring" of the Chinese economy.