Prices also fell for two categories – electricity and gas, and retail and other goods – the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said in their joint report on March 24.
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The headquarters of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (Photo: MAS) |
Economists said Singapore's inflation will continue to ease in the months ahead, with a chance that consumer prices might even drop if the global economy takes a sharp turn downwards.
For February, core inflation, which excludes private transport and accommodation costs to better reflect the expenses of households here, eased to 0.6% year on year. This is the lowest since June 2021 when it was 0.6% , and much lower than the 3.6% rate recorded in February 2024. It is also below the 0.7% forecast by economists in a Bloomberg poll.
In January, core inflation slid to 0.8% from 1.7% in December 2024. Starting with January, the consumer price index (CPI) has been rebased to a base year of 2024 from 2019. Rebasing is conducted once every five years to reflect the latest consumption patterns of Singapore households.
Overall – or headline – inflation cooled to 0.9% year on year in February from 1.2% in January as private transport inflation moderated, in addition to the fall in core inflation. It also came in lower than the Bloomberg poll forecast of 1.0%.
MAS and MTI said Singapore’s imported inflation is expected to remain moderate, reflecting favorable supply projections for key food commodity markets and forecasts of a decline in global oil prices.
Looking at the February inflation data, electricity and gas prices dropped 3.1% in February, after falling 2.9% in January, due to a larger drop in electricity tariffs and a decline in gas prices.
The cost of retail and other goods fell 0.4% in February, after shrinking 0.6% in January. This drop was led by smaller declines in the prices of clothing, footwear, and furniture and furnishings.
Private transport costs rose at a slower pace of 1.6% in February due to smaller increases in car and petrol prices, from 2.8% in January. Food inflation moderated to 1% in February from 1.5% in the previous month, as the pace of increase in the prices of non-cooked food and prepared meals slowed.
Source: VNA