Private economists have further revised their outlook on the Singapore economy upwards, and now expect its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to contract by a moderate 2 percent this year, local media reported on Wednesday.
In the previous survey of professional forecasters conducted by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) in September, economists had a median forecast of a more dismal 3.6 percent decline in GDP for 2009, local TV broadcaster Channel NewsAsia reported.
The 20 economists who responded to the latest survey expect most sectors to continue posting improved numbers for the fourth quarter this year. They expect financial services to return to positive growth of about 9.9 percent in the last three months of the year, after declining 0.2 percent in the previous quarter.
They also projected positive numbers for non-oil domestic exports, giving a median forecast of 3 percent growth, following last quarter's 7.8 percent decline in exports.
Manufacturing is expected to grow at a median rate of 8 percent, after posting a surprise 6.6 percent growth in the third quarter.
The 20 economists who responded to the latest survey have also upgraded their forecast for fourth quarter growth.
They now have a median forecast of a 4.7 percent expansion in the fourth quarter, up from 1.9 percent in the previous survey. For 2010, the analysts have projected the economy to grow by 5.5 percent./.