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Outstanding loans in Singapore edged higher in June from the previous month as home buyers and professionals borrowed more, the central bank said on Saturday.

Loans to non-bank customers rose 0.3 percent to S$174.8 billion ($101.7 billion), the Monetary Authority of Singapore said in a report. That followed a rise of 0.8 percent in May and a 0.1 percent decline in April.

Lending grew 5.8 percent in June from the same month a year before. That was also same year-on-year increase recorded in May.

The lending figures, along with job market data unveiled on Friday, show that domestic demand is steady, said Song Seng Wun, an economist at G.K. Goh.

"Though the economy is very strong on the surface, the underlying activity is a bit more subdued. Going forward, we are again likely to see modest improvement rather than significant improvements in lending activities," he said.

The government expects the island's trade-driven economy to grow between 5.5 percent and 7.5 percent in 2004, its fastest pace in four years.

Copyright Reuters, 2004


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