Singapore economy to grow 2.8%

Economists in the private sector expect the Singapore economy to grow by 2.8 percent in 2013, according to the results of a survey released on Wednesday. The latest median estimate of the economists surveyed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) was at the higher end of the official forecast. It is also slightly higher than the results of the previous quarterly survey released in December 2012. The Ministry of Trade and Industry has said it expected the Singapore economy to grow by 1 percent to 3 percent this year. The economists expect a 0.8 percent growth for the Singapore economy in the first quarter of 2013, a slight downgrade from an earlier estimate of 1.2 percent. They expect the full-year inflation to come in at 3.8 percent, in line with the central bank's estimated forecast range of between 3.5 and 4.5 percent for the year. They forecast the MAS Core Inflation, which excludes the costs of accommodation and private road transport, to come in at 2 percent, slightly higher than the previous forecast of 2.2 percent. They expect the jobless rate to be at 2 percent by the year end. For 2014, the 21 economists and analysts who participated in the survey expect an economic growth of 4 percent, with an inflation of 3.4 percent.