Singapore to report monetary policy decision, advance Q1 GDP on April 14

SINGAPORE - Singapore will announce the central bank's semi-annual monetary policy decision and release advance gross domestic product (GDP) estimates for the first quarter on April 14.

The first quarter advance GDP and the Monetary Authority of Singapore's (MAS) policy statement will be released at 8am (0000 GMT) on April 14, the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the MAS said on Monday.

Economists widely expect the MAS to maintain its policy of allowing a "modest and gradual" appreciation of the Singapore dollar to guard against inflationary pressures, as core inflation is seen likely to rise later this year due to wage cost pressures from a tight labour market.

A Reuters survey of economists showed that Singapore's gross domestic product probably expanded by 5.3 per cent in the first quarter compared with the same period a year earlier.

On a quarter-on-quarter, seasonally adjusted and annualised basis, the city-state's GDP was expected to have grown 0.2 per cent in the first quarter.