2019 GDP forecast range revised upwards after Q3 outperformance

SINGAPORE has narrowed its official full-year growth forecast for 2019 to 0.5 to 1 per cent, reflecting the authorities' optimism following a better-than-expected third-quarter economic performance.

This is an improvement over initial expectations of a zero to 1 per cent growth, which had been downgraded from the 1.5 to 3.5 per cent growth forecast the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) made a year ago.

Economic growth for Q3 was 0.5 per cent, faster than the 0.2 per cent clocked in the preceding quarter. It also surpassed an official flash estimate of 0.1 per cent and beat the expectations of private-sector economists polled by Bloomberg; they had reckoned growth to come in at 0.4 per cent.