| Agence
France Presse June 3, 2004 SINGAPORE PRIVATE sector economists have upgraded their 2004 forecasts for Singapore's economy to 7.0 percent, near the top end of official forecasts, a central bank poll said Thursday, June 3. "The outlook for the Singapore economy has improved significantly since the last survey in March 2004," the Monetary Authority of Singapore said. "Following the release of the stronger-than-expected first quarter growth, respondents have revised their forecasts for the rest of the year." The 7.0 percent forecast in the latest poll, which was carried out last month with 26 economists surveyed, ared with a prediction of 5.5 percent in the previous review. Singapore's official 2004 growth targets were raised last month from 3.5-5.5 percent to 5.5-7.5 percent after the economy expanded 7.5 percent on an annualised basis in the March quarter. Economists polled in the latest survey expect the economy to grow 10.3 percent in the second quarter before moderating to 6.1 percent in the third and 4.6 percent in the final three months of the year. However, risks remain for the Singapore economy, which is extremely vulnerable to any deterioration in the external environment, economists in the survey said. The risks cited include expected hikes in US interest rates, a Chinese economic slowdown, high oil prices as well as the possibility of terrorist attacks in the region. |
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