Economists raise Singapore’s 2026 growth forecast to 5%: MAS survey
The projection is in line with the Ministry of Trade and Industry’s forecast of 4.5% to 5.5%.
People walk under an umbrella to shield themselves from the heat along Queen Elizabeth Walk in Singapore on Apr 1, 2025. (File photo: AFP/Roslan Rahman)
New: You can now listen to articles.
This audio is generated by an AI tool.
Read a summary of this article on FAST.
Get bite-sized news via a new
cards interface. Give it a try.
Click here to return to FAST
Tap here to return to FAST
FAST
SINGAPORE: Private-sector economists have sharply raised their growth forecast for the Singapore economy this year to 5 per cent from 3.5 per cent.
The projection, released by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) in its latest survey of professional forecasters on Wednesday (Sep 2), is in line with the Ministry of Trade and Industry’s (MTI) forecast of 4.5 per cent to 5.5 per cent.
A total of 21 economists and analysts responded to the survey, MAS said
The Singapore economy grew by 5.9 per cent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2026, higher than the 4.3 per cent growth that respondents had forecast for the quarter in the previous survey.
Guess Word
Crack the word, one row at a time
Buzzword
Create words using the given letters
Mini Sudoku
Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser
Mini Crossword
Small grid, big challenge
Word Search
Spot as many words as you can
In the current survey, respondents expect the economy to grow by 4.6 per cent year-on-year in the third quarter of 2026 and 3.6 per cent in the final quarter of the year.
The economy expanded by 6.3 per cent in the first quarter of the year.
An escalation or prolonged conflict in the Middle East and a bursting of the artificial intelligence (AI) bubble, with associated spillovers to financial markets, were the most frequently cited downside risks to Singapore’s economic outlook.
“On the upside, all respondents identified a sustained AI-driven upturn in the technology cycle as a key support to Singapore’s economic outlook,” MAS said.
A de-escalation or resolution of the Middle East conflict and stronger-than-expected global growth were also cited as developments that could boost economic growth.
The economists also lowered their inflation forecasts for 2026.
The median projection for headline or overall inflation, measured by the Consumer Price Index-All Items (CPI-All Items), was lowered to 2.1 per cent, from 2.3 per cent in the previous survey.
Core inflation, which excludes accommodation and private transportation costs, is forecast at 1.9 per cent, down from 2 per cent previously.
For the third quarter, respondents expect headline inflation to come in at 2.5 per cent and core inflation at 2.4 per cent.
This comes after headline inflation and core inflation came in at 1.8 per cent and 1.5 per cent respectively in the second quarter, both below respondents’ earlier forecasts.
Meanwhile, 45 per cent of respondents expect MAS to tighten monetary policy in October by increasing the slope of the Singapore dollar nominal effective exchange rate (S$NEER) policy band.
This is up from 30 per cent in the previous survey, with the remaining respondents expecting no change to the slope of the policy band.
Almost all of the respondents expect no change to the monetary policy stance in January 2027.
For 2027, respondents expect the Singapore economy to grow by 3.1 per cent.
Headline and core inflation are both forecast to come in at 2 per cent next year.
Source: CNA/dc(kg)
Sign up for our newsletters
Get the CNA app
Stay updated with notifications for breaking news and our best stories
Get WhatsApp alerts
Join our channel for the top reads for the day on your preferred chat app
Get bite-sized news via a new
cards interface. Give it a try.
Click here to return to FAST
Tap here to return to FAST
FAST
