SINGAPORE: Singapore’s core inflation extended its decline in January to a more than three-year low, on the back of a smaller increase in prices across broad categories except for private transport.
Core inflation, which excludes private transport and accommodation costs to better reflect the expenses of Singapore households, slid to 0.8 per cent year on year, from a revised 1.7 per cent in December.
This is the lowest since June 2021, when core inflation was 0.6 per cent.
Overall – or headline – inflation eased further to 1.2 per cent year on year in January, down from a revised 1.5 per cent in December.
On a month-on-month basis, which shows the momentum in prices, both core inflation and overall inflation fell, by 0.2 per cent and 0.7 per cent, respectively.
Singapore’s imported inflation is expected to remain moderate, reflecting favourable supply projections in key food commodity markets and forecasts of declines in global oil prices, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said in their joint report on Feb 24.
The further easing of inflation in Singapore comes after MAS on Jan 24 cut its forecast for 2025 core inflation to 1 per cent to 2 per cent, from 1.5 per cent to 2.5 per cent.
MAS kept its 2025 headline inflation forecast unchanged at an average of 1.5 per cent to 2.5 per cent, on an anticipated pickup in private transport inflation that will be partly offset by a slowdown in accommodation inflation. - The Straits Times/ANN
