S'pore narrows full-year GDP growth forecast range to 2.5pc

SINGAPORE, May 21 (Xinhua): Singapore's Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) announced on Tuesday that the country's gross domestic product (GDP) expected for the whole year of 2019 was ranged from 1.5 to 2.5 per cent, compared to the previously announced 1.5 to 3.5 per cent.

The ministry said it has narrowed its 2019 GDP growth forecast, taking into account the performance of the Singapore economy in the first quarter, as well as the weaker external demand outlook for Singapore.

In the first quarter, the city-state saw its economy grew by 1.2 per cent year on year, slightly lower than the 1.3 per cent growth in the previous quarter. On a seasonally adjusted quarter-on-quarter basis, the economy expanded by 3.8 per cent, a reversal from the 0.8 per cent contraction in the previous quarter.

As for the external environment, the MTI said that the global growth outlook remains clouded by uncertainties and downside risks, which makes key outward-oriented sectors in the Singaporean economy expected to slow this year.