Singapore allows currency gains as GDP beats estimates

Labor shortages, higher home prices fuel inflation.

According to a report by Bloomberg, Singapore's central bank maintained its commitment to currency appreciation after the economy shrank less than estimated last quarter, forgoing stimulus as labor shortages and record home prices fuel inflation.

Gross domestic product fell an annualized 1 percent in the three months through September from the previous quarter, when it expanded a revised 16.9 percent, the trade ministry said in a statement today.

The median in a Bloomberg News survey of 13 economists was for a 4 percent contraction. The central bank, which uses the island’s dollar to manage inflation, said it will maintain a modest and gradual appreciation of the currency.

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