Economists raise Singapore’s 2024 GDP forecasts on better-than-expected H1 growth, broadening recovery

AFTER Singapore’s growth surpassed consensus expectations in the second quarter of 2024, economists are optimistic about prospects, with several upgrading their full-year forecasts. This is after some – including Maybank and OCBC – had also raised their forecasts after Q1 advance data was released in April.

Gross domestic product growth stood at 2.9 per cent on year in the second quarter, comparable to the upwardly-revised growth rate of 3 per cent in the previous quarter, going by advance estimates from the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) on Friday (Jul 12).

On a seasonally adjusted, quarterly basis, GDP rose 0.4 per cent, up from 0.3 per cent previously. Year-on-year growth beat economists’ expectations of 2.7 per cent in a Bloomberg poll, while quarter-on-quarter growth was in line with their forecast.