(Bloomberg) -- Singapore expects gross domestic product to expand 3% to 5% next year, a slower pace than this year as its rebound from the worst of the pandemic steadies.

The first official forecast for 2022 compares with about 7% this year, the Ministry of Trade and Industry said Wednesday, reflecting the impact from easing pandemic restrictions and a stabilizing global economy.

The growth outlook comes as the city-state seeks to move on from its biggest surge in virus cases, which had complicated its rollback of social curbs. While the island continues to open up its borders amid a fall in infections, the government has signaled a further easing of restrictions within the country is unlikely this year.

Top political figures have reaffirmed their determination to stick to the pace of reopening, trying to assuage concerns over the country’s earlier stop-start restrictions. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong described it last week as a “step by step” approach that seeks to avoid needing to dial back measures.

The trade ministry on Wednesday also released final readings for third-quarter economic activity, with GDP rising 7.1% from a year ago, compared with economists’ forecasts and an advance estimate in October of both 6.5%. Meanwhile, the official 2022 forecast Wednesday compares with a median growth outlook of 4% in a Bloomberg survey of economists.

Inflation concerns have grown in the trade hub, which is highly reliant on imports. Consumer prices last month rose faster than expected, piling greater focus on whether the central bank will further tighten policy at its next meeting in April. 

Read more: Singapore Central Bank ‘Ready to Act’ Against Inflation Risks

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