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SINGAPORE – The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) on Monday (Feb 17) downgraded its economic growth forecast to between -0.5 and 1.5 per cent – indicating a possible recession – due to a weakened outlook after the outbreak of the coronavirus.
The MTI also said growth is expected to come in at around 0.5 per cent, the mid-point of the forecast range. In November, the MTI forecast economic expansion of between 0.5 and 2.5 per cent for 2020.
Mr Gabriel Lim, permanent secretary for trade and industry, said that the last time Singapore suffered a recession was in 2001, when full year gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by about 1 per cent.
However, he stressed that MTI’s baseline view at this point for 2020 is for GDP growth to come in at around 0.5 per cent.
“As the Covid-19 situation is still evolving, there is a significant degree of uncertainty over the length and severity of the outbreak, and hence its overall impact,” Mr Lim told a media briefing on Monday.
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