Singapore Sees 2012 Growth at Low End of Forecast on Exports

Singapore said growth this year will be at the lower end of its previous forecast and the expansion in 2013 may hold near a three-year low, as faltering demand for its goods weighs on the Southeast Asian nation’s economy.

The economy will grow 1 percent to 3 percent in 2013 after expanding about 1.5 percent this year, the Trade Ministry said in a statement today. It had previously forecast growth of as much as 2.5 percent in 2012. Gross domestic product contracted 5.9 percent last quarter from the previous three months, worse than the 1.5 percent decline estimated earlier.