'Spore's growth prospect gloomy'

'Spore's growth prospect gloomy'

SINGAPORE: Private sector economists are gloomier about Singapore's growth this year due to a poorer manufacturing outlook, a survey of forecasters showed on Saturday.

The latest survey conducted by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) found the median gross domestic product (GDP) forecast falling to 0.8 percent compared with 1.5 percent in June.

Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong predicted a zero to 1 percent range earlier in August.

GDP growth for 2004 was projected at between 2.5 percent and 5.8 percent in the MAS survey of 23 economists earlier this month.

Some respondents cited downside risks in the near-term from sluggish recovery of external demand, a possible recurrence of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and more terrorist attacks in the region. Economists downgraded their 2003 manufacturing forecast by 2.3 percentage points to 2.4 percent. -- DPA