SINGAPORE - Singapore downgraded its economic growth forecast for 2023 to a range of 0.5 per cent and 1.5 per cent amid a weak outlook for manufacturing and the slowing China and United States economies.
On a quarter-on-quarter seasonally adjusted basis, the economy eked out growth of just 0.1 per cent, a reversal from the 0.4 per cent contraction in the first quarter of 2023, narrowly avoiding a technical recession or two consecutive quarters of contraction. Meanwhile, growth in two of its major trading partners – China and the United States – is likely to moderate in the second half of 2023.
“Apart from the expected slowdown in Singapore’s key external demand markets, the global electronics downturn is also likely to be protracted, with a gradual recovery expected towards the end of the year at the earliest,” it noted.Factory output fell 4.9 per cent in June,“Against this backdrop, the growth outlook for the manufacturing sector in Singapore remains weak for the rest of the year,” MTI said.