Economists in Singapore forecast the country's gross domestic product (GDP) to grow by 5.9 percent this year, higher than their estimation of 5 percent three months ago.

According to the result of a quarterly survey released by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on Friday, the estimated growth rates for all economic sectors except construction are higher than those shown in last poll.

Private consumption is expected to grow by 4.6 percent this year while the consumer price index (CPI) inflation is estimated to be 1.5 percent. The unemployment rate is forecast to remain as low as 2.5 percent at the end of 2006.

The professional forecasters also expect the Singapore dollar to appreciate against the U.S. dollar with the exchange rate reaching 1.6 Singapore dollars to one U.S. dollar.

The economic growth rate for 2007 is estimated to be around 5.1 percent, according to the survey.

The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MIT) announced last month that Singapore's GDP grew by 6.4 percent in 2005 over the previous year.

Source: Xinhua