ECONOMISTS have sharply cut their forecasts for Singapore’s economic growth in 2019, citing trade tensions and a slowing China as the top risks to the financial hub, a central bank survey showed yesterday.

Singapore’s gross domestic product is expected to increase 0.6 percent this year, according to the median forecast of 23 economists surveyed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), down from 2.1 percent in the last MAS survey in June.

Growth of 0.6 percent would be just inside the upper half of the government’s newly-downgraded forecast range. The Ministry of Trade and Industry cut its range last month to 0-1 percent, from its previous 1.5-2.5 percent projection.

Singapore has been hit hard by the Sino-U.S. trade war, which has disrupted world supply chains in a blow to business investment and corporate profits.

Final second quarter Singapore GDP data, reported Aug. 13, showed a 3.3 percent quarter-on-quarter contraction on a seasonally-adjusted annualized basis.

That was a slight decline from the government’s advance estimate but deeper than a 2.9 percent fall predicted in a Reuters poll and a sharp contrast to the robust 3.8 percent first quarter expansion.

In the new MAS survey, economists slashed forecasts for most key macroeconomic indicators but raised their expectations for the finance, insurance and private consumption sectors.

The survey predicted Singapore’s economy would grow 0.3 percent in the third quarter on an annual basis, up from the 0.1 percent year-on-year expansion seen in the second quarter.

For 2020, full-year growth of 1.6 percent is expected, the survey showed.

(SD-Agencies)