SINGAPORE, March 11 (Xinhua) -- The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced in a report on Wednesday that economists and analysts polled in a survey of professional forecasters expect Singapore's 2020 economic growth to come in at 0.6 percent.
That is lower than their previous forecast of 1.5 percent economic growth for 2020, which is showed in the survey report that the MAS released last December.
In the current survey, the respondents expect the economy to contract by 0.8 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2020, and to grow by 0.3 percent, 1.3 percent and 1.9 percent, respectively for the second, third and fourth quarter of this year.
As for inflation, they forecast that Singapore's Consumer Price Index for all items (CPI-All Items) would grow by 0.8 percent in 2020, and the MAS core inflation, which excludes the costs of accommodation and private road transport, would hit 0.9 percent.
The economists and analysts forecast that Singapore's economy would grow by 2 percent in 2021, when the CPI-All Items inflation is forecast to come in at 1.1 percent, and the MAS core inflation is expected to be 1.2 percent.
According to the report, an escalation in the COVID-19 situation tops the list of downside risks to Singapore's growth outlook identified by respondents, with 100 percent of respondents citing it and 94.1 percent ranking it as the top downside risk.
Other major downside risks identified by the economists and analysts include an escalation in trade tensions and the geopolitical risks such as uncertainties about the outcome of the upcoming U.S. elections. Meanwhile, the containment of the COVID-19 outbreak was the most commonly-cited upside risk to Singapore's growth outlook.
The MAS said this month's survey report reflects the views received from 21 respondents and does not represent MAS' views or forecasts.
