Singapore Sees Travel Boom Shielding Economy From Recession

(Bloomberg) — Singapore is confident that a rebound in travel that’s boosting the services sector will help the island’s economy avoid a recession this year despite a darkening global outlook.

Authorities retained their forecast for gross domestic product growth to range between 0.5% and 2.5%, with the actual expansion seen likely coming in at the midpoint. The Ministry of Trade and Industry also published on Thursday final estimates for the first quarter, which showed GDP declined an annualized 0.4% from the previous three months, better than the 0.7% drop estimated earlier.