Singapore’s CPI rises 0.4pc in September

• Oct 24, 2017

SINGAPORE (Xinhua) – Singapore’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.4 per cent in September, unchanged from the previous month, said Ministry of Trade and Industry and Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) in a joint release yesterday.

The unchanged inflation was mainly due to the offset effect of higher services inflation and lower private road transport inflation, said the release.

Services inflation edged up to 1.5 per cent in September from 1.4 per cent a month ago, mainly due to faster pace of increase in telecommunication services fees.

Private road transport inflation eased to 2.1 per cent in September from 2.6 per cent in the previous month, reflecting a larger decline in car prices and a smaller year-ago increase in petrol prices.

Food prices stayed steadily in September at 1.2 per cent, unchanged from a month ago. Accommodation cost fell by 3.9 per cent in September, the same rate of decline as in August due to continued softness in the housing rental market.

Meanwhile, the MAS core inflation, which excludes the costs of accommodation and private road transport, was higher at 1.5 per cent in September as compared to 1.4 per cent in August, due to an increase in services inflation.

Looking forward, Singapore is likely to see mild increase of imported inflation as global demand improves amid ample supply in key commodity markets, said the release. It forecast that global oil prices are expected to go up only slightly in 2018 compared to 2017. Meanwhile, food commodity prices are also expected to rise modestly next year.

Source: http://borneobulletin.com.bn/singapores-cpi-rises-0-4pc-in-september/