Singapore slashes annual GDP forecast on virus-beaten economy

Singapore’s trade ministry announced on Tuesday that the city-state lowered its gross domestic product outlook for 2020. It had cut its GDP forecast for the third time already as the virus-beaten economy prepares for its steepest recession.

Singapore’s GDP is likely to record a -7% to -4% contraction rate, way lower than the initial range of -1% to -4%. It also reduced this year’s outlook for non-oil domestic exports, forecasting a contraction rate of -4.0% to -1.0%. It was set lower than the initial speculation of -0.5% to 1.5%.

Year-on-year records showed that Singapore’s economy declined by 0.7% in the first quarter, with a 4.7% decline recorded on a quarterly basis. The reading came out milder than expected but policymakers and analysts warned of more economic pressure in the coming months.