MALAYSIAN CENTRAL BANK SEES HIGHER 1987 GROWTH Gross domestic product (GDP) growth in 1987 is expected to grow by between 1.5 and two pct, up from one pct in 1986, the central bank said. The forecast compares with the one pct GDP growth forecast made by the Treasury last October. Bank Negara also said in its annual report that gross national product (GNP) is expected to grow by 3.5 to four pct, after declining 7.3 pct in 1986. It said that a turnaround in investor confidence since last November had been spurred by a moderate improvement in oil and commodity prices and a rise in manufacturing exports. Growth in 1987 is expected to come from the anticipated rise in export earnings if the industrialised countries sustain their average GNP growth at 2.5 to three pct, it added. Bank Negara said its forecast assumes that crude oil will average 15.50 dlrs a barrel, rubber at 210 cents a kilo, palm oil at 850 ringgit a tonne, tin at 17 ringgit a kilo and a rise of 12 pct in manufacturing exports. It said Malaysia's international terms of trade will turn around to rise by two pct in 1987 after declining 12 pct in 1986 and five pct in 1985. "In 1987, income will be higher, private consumer spending is likely to recover and expand... The budget will remain under strict control... The resource gap in the government's finances on current account will be bridged over the near term," Bank Governor Jaafar Hussein said in the report. The current account deficit is expected to narrow to 1.19 billion ringgit in 1986 or 1.8 pct of GNP from 1.79 billion or 2.5 pct of the GNP the previous year. The bank forecasts the inflation rate will increase by 1.5 pct, after its 0.7 pct rise in 1986.