A view in Singapore (straitstimes.com)Singapore's economy grew only 1.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2018 compared to the previous quarter, much lower than economists’ forecast of 3.2 percent.
Under a report announced by the Singaporean Ministry of Trade and Industry, from a year earlier, the country’s economy grew 2.2 percent in the fourth quarter, compared with the median forecast of 2.3 percent in the Reuters survey and a revised 2.3 percent growth in the third quarter.
The economy expanded 3.3 percent for all of 2018, down from a three-year high of 3.6 percent in the prior year.
The Singaporean Government forecast that the country’s economic growth was estimated at between 3-3.5 percent in 2018, and about 1.5 - 3.5 percent in 2019.
Some economists said that while the trade-reliant economy’s growth is expected to slow this year, it may still expand at a sufficiently robust pace to justify the more tightening monetary policy by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
Economist Alvin Liew from theUOBGlobalEconomicsand Markets Research team said the MAS is more likely to further tighten the monetary policy in April 2019./.