Singapore says its budget deficit for 2022 will be lower than expected — at $1.5 billion dollars, or 0.3% of its gross domestic product.
In his budget speech to Parliament on Tuesday, Finance Minister Lawrence Wong said: “We expect a slight deficit of $2 billion Singapore dollars ($1.5 billion) or 0.3% of GDP for FY2022,” said Wong, who is also deputy prime minister. The country previously estimated the 2022 deficit would come in at S$3 billion.
He acknowledged that 2022 was a “year of brutal inflation worldwide” and rising costs pressures continue to weigh on the Singapore economy, which grew 3.6% last year.
“By the end of last year, global inflation was around 9% inflation reached historic levels and many advanced economies,” he said.
“Singapore too had to contend with these inflationary pressures — [the Monetary Authority of Singapore] has tightened our monetary policy five times since October 2021,” he added.
Singapore’s core inflation rose to 5.1% in October, and stayed unchanged until December.
He said Singaporeans must “brace ourselves for a period of relatively higher inflation both globally and also in Singapore.”
“There are some early signs that global headline inflation rates are softening, but it is premature to declare victory. We expect headline inflation to remain high at least for the first half of this year,” said Wong.
This report’s information was first seen on CNBC; to read more, click this link.
