Singapore's economy will grow 3.6% this year, up from a previous forecast of 2.6% expansion, while monetary policy settings are expected to remain unchanged at an upcoming review in January, a survey by the central bank showed on Wednesday.
The median forecast of 25 economists surveyed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore expect growth of 3.1% in the final quarter of 2024 and 2.6% growth for the whole of 2025.
Last month, the trade ministry raised its GDP growth forecast for 2024 to 3.5% from a previous range of 2.0% to 3.0%, after third-quarter growth surpassed estimates at 5.4%.
A majority of economists surveyed expect the MAS to maintain its current monetary policy in its quarterly reviews in January, April and July.
Only 33% of those polled expect a loosening of monetary policy in January via a reduction in the slope of the Singapore dollar nominal effective exchange rate, or S$NEER, compared to 50% in September's survey.
The central bank of trade-reliant Singapore sets the path of the policy band of the S$NEER, thus strengthening or weakening the local currency against those of its main trading partners.
Headline inflation for 2024 was seen at 2.5%, down slightly from 2.6% forecast in the September survey, while core inflation this year was seen at 2.8%, down from 2.9% seen previously.
Core inflation in the final quarter of this year was seen at 2.1% in the survey.
Core inflation fell to 2.1% in October from a year earlier, making it the smallest rise in almost three years.
The economists surveyed expect headline and core inflation in 2025 to both be in a range of 1.5% to 1.9%.
