SINGAPORE - Singapore will witness a deeper recession this year after the nation extended and tightened its partial lockdown, Citigroup warned, widening its forecast for an economic contraction.
"The circuit breaker would cause close to 25 per cent-30 per cent of gross domestic produt to come to a standstill, with every month of extension further reducing 2020 GDP by 2 per cent to 2.5 per cent," the economists wrote."The technical rebound after the lifting of the circuit breaker on 1st Jun will be capped by continued social distancing and only gradual recovery in exports.
The economists warned of further downside risks to their outlook, given that the steps announced on Tuesday will bring most construction activities to a standstill and more services will be restricted or suspended.