By Ronnie Harui
Singapore’s economic growth outlook has dimmed, Monetary Authority of Singapore Managing Director Ravi Menon said Wednesday, expecting the economy to operate slightly below its underlying capacity.
“Growth has perceptibly slowed in recent quarters,” Menon said at a media conference, where he also spoke about the central bank’s annual report. “Growth will remain weak in the near term. A material slowdown in global economic activity in the later part of this year looks increasingly likely,” he added.
However, inflation in Singapore has “clearly” peaked and moderated discernibly, Menon said. The city-state’s inflation should slow further by the end of the year, he added.
MAS cut its 2023 forecast range for Singapore’s consumer price index to 4.5%-5.5% from 5.5%-6.5% previously, Menon said. Also, core inflation is expected to end the year sharply lower at 2.5%-3.0%, he added.
The central bank’s proactive, progressive tightening of monetary policy has helped curb price increases and facilitated a gradual slowing in inflation, Menon said. However, the fight against inflation isn’t over yet and the MAS’s monetary policy stance remains tight relative to the business cycle, he added.
MAS isn’t switching to “growth-supporting mode” from “inflation-fighting mode,” Menon said.
Write to Ronnie Harui at [email protected]
Read the full article here
