Singapore's economy will likely grow at a slightly faster pace this year than previously anticipated, despite an anticipated slowdown in the manufacturing sector.

Economists now expect Singapore's gross domestic product (GDP) to grow 2.9 per cent this year, according to the Monetary Authority of Singapore's (MAS') latest quarterly Survey of Professional Forecasters.

Their latest estimate is higher than the estimate of 2.3 per cent in previous poll results released in June. The Government's official tip is for 2.5 to 3.5 per cent growth this year.

Survey respondents expect the manufacturing sector to grow a meagre 0.2 per cent over last year, down from the estimate of 1.2 per cent in June's survey.

Finance and insurance is anticipated to be the fastest-growing sector, tipped to expand 10.6 per cent over last year.

Meanwhile, economists' forecast for inflation this year has dipped to 2.5 per cent, from 2.8 per cent reported in the June survey.