ECONOMISTS are expecting the Singapore economy to decline by 6.5 per cent this year, worse than the 4.9 per cent contraction they tipped only a few months earlier.

But this latest figure is well within the Government's full-year economic forecast range of a -6 per cent to -9 per cent contraction.

A Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) poll of 23 economists and analysts, released on Wednesday, tipped the economy to fare poorer against an earlier forecast in March, on the back of steep declines in segments such as manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade, and hotels and restaurants.

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