Singapore has cut its forecast for growth this year by 1.5 percentage points, blaming the slowdown in the United States economy and weakness of the global electronics cycle.
The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said gross domestic product would expand between 3.5 per cent and 5.5 per cent this year, down from an earlier estimate of 5 per cent to 7 per cent.
Growth in the first quarter of this year was put at 4.6 per cent year on year, the slowest rate of expansion in two years.
Despite the slowdown, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), in a related announcement, said it was retaining its tightening bias, confounding speculation it had shifted to a neutral stance.
The GDP forecast revision brings the country into line with governments around the region which have already moved to pare their estimates because of the deteriorating external environment.
The new estimate suggests that annual growth will halve this year from last year's heady 9.9 per cent rate, which was underpinned by soaring export sales.