ZCZC
BCN-32
SINGAPORE-CONSUMER-PRICE-INDEX
Singapore’s CPI growth remains at 0.6 pct in July
SINGAPORE, Aug. 24, 2018 (BSS/Xinhua) – Singapore’s Consumer Price Index
(CPI) grew 0.6 percent in July, the same pace of growth as in the previous
month, said the Ministry of Trade and Industry and Monetary Authority of
Singapore (MAS) in a joint release on Thursday.
The MAS Core Inflation, which excludes the costs of accommodation and
private road transport, grew to 1.9 percent in July from 1.7 percent in the
previous month.
The authorities attribute the larger CPI inflation to the fact that a
decline in private road transport costs and lower services inflation offset a
larger increase in the cost of electricity and gas. They also said the MAS
Core Inflation kept going up in July, driven by a larger increase in the cost
of electricity and gas.
In a breakdown, Singapore’s cost of electricity and gas registered a
steeper 12.7 percent growth in July, compared to the 3.7 percent increase in
June; services inflation moderated to 1.5 percent from 1.7 percent; food
inflation was unchanged at 1.5 percent; private road transport cost fell by
0.2 percent year on year, compared to the 0.4 percent increase in June; and
the accommodation cost fell by three percent, the same pace of decrease in
the previous month.
Looking forward, Singapore is likely to see mild increase of imported
inflation, while the domestic sources of inflation are expected to increase
alongside a faster pace of wage growth and a pickup in domestic demand.
According to the joint release, Singapore’s CPI inflation is expected to
be at the upper half of the 01 percent forecast range this year. The MAS core
inflation is expected to rise gradually over the course of 2018 to come in at
the upper half of the 1-2 percent forecast range.
BSS/XINHUA/HR/1135