Forecasters lower Singapore growth and inflation projections for 2015

SINGAPORE'S economic forecasters have tempered both their growth and inflation expectations for 2015, according to a Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) quarterly survey released on Wednesday.

They now expect the economy to grow by just 2.2 per cent this year - down from the 2.7 per cent projected a quarter ago. They are also more pessimistic on the outlook for the manufacturing and construction sectors, and most services clusters.

Headline and core inflation are expected to come in at -0.2 per cent and 0.5 per cent respectively in 2015 - a fall from the 0 per cent and one per cent forecast in the previous survey.

Core inflation excludes the costs of accommodation and private road transport.

Sent out on Aug 11, MAS's September issue of its Survey of Professional Forecasters received 23 respondents.

Both private-sector growth and inflation projections fall within the government's forecasts. According to the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI), the Singapore economy should expand between 2 and 2.5 per cent in 2015 - a narrowed forecast from its previous 2 to 4 per cent projection.

Headline and core inflation, meanwhile, are projected to average -0.5 to 0.5 per cent and 0.5 to 1.5 per cent respectively.