For this year, construction was seen as the sector that willexpand the most, followed by accommodation and food services. Manufacturing wasprojected to grow by 4.7 percent, more than the previous median estimate of 4.5percent.
Growth in private consumption was estimated at 7.9 percent,less than the earlier forecast of 8.5 percent, but non-oil domestic exports(Nodx) growth was raised to 6.9 percent from 4 percent.
Inflation, as measured by the consumer price index for allitems, was forecast at 0.9 percent this year, while MAS core inflation - thatexcludes volatile components of accommodation and private transport - wasexpected to come in at 0.7 percent.
Last month, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) leftunchanged its forecast for Singapore's GDP to grow between 4 percent and 6 percent.This would make it the fastest growth since 2011, when the economy grew by 6.3percent.
However, it comes off a particularly low base as MTI estimatesthe economy shrank 5.4 percent last year in its worst recession driven by thecoronavirus pandemic./.