Singapore’s economic growth is expected to slow in the fourth quarter, partly due to the uncertainty caused by the Omicron COVID-19 variant. Analysts say that next year’s outlook will depend on global progress in the fight against the pandemic.
Gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 5.4% over the same period last year, marking the fourth consecutive quarter of growth. The economy grew by 7.1% in the third quarter.
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) measures the national income and output of a particular country’s economy. Gross domestic product (GDP) equals the total expenditure on all final products and services produced domestically during a specified period.
Barclays regional economist Brian Tan said that the decline in year-on-year growth rates was mainly due to unfavorable base effects. He also pointed out that the downturn caused by the pandemic last year led to a sharp rebound. He expects the overall growth rate in 2021 to be 6.8%.
According to official forecasts, Singapore’s economy may grow by about 7% in 2021 and 3% to 5% in 2022.
The countries worldwide shift their strategies to coexist with the coronavirus. So, the growth of this city-state has rebounded this year due to virus-related restrictions and the destruction caused by the global economic downturn.
Singapore has vaccinated 87% of the population. As of Monday, 38% of the population had received the COVID-19 booster injection.
With supply constraints and global economic recovery leading to increasing inflationary pressures, the central bank unexpectedly tightened monetary policy at its last meeting in October.
Economists generally expect the central bank to tighten policy again in April next year due to the continued price pressure.
