SINGAPORE, June 14 (Xinhua) -- The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said in a report on Wednesday that economists and analysts polled in the Survey of Professional Forecasters expected the country's gross domestic product (GDP) to expand by 1.4 percent this year.

The number is 0.5 points lower than the 1.9-percent GDP forecast in the previous survey report released by the MAS this March.

The surveyed economists also lowered their forecasts of growth in the manufacturing field, finance and insurance sector, as well as wholesale-retail trade, according to the report.

As for inflation, the respondents forecasted that Singapore's Consumer Price Index for all items would grow by 5 percent this year, unchanged from the March survey.

Spillovers from an external growth slowdown emerged as the most cited downside risk to the domestic outlook of the city-state. Inflationary pressures and escalation in geopolitical tensions also threatened Singapore's growth outlook, according to the report.

Up to 71 percent of the respondents noted that more robust growth in China will fuel Singapore's growth, said the report. Enditem

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