SINGAPORE, Aug 23 — Singapore’s key consumer price gauge rose 2.5 per cent in July from a year earlier, the smallest increase since February 2022, official data showed today.
The core inflation rate — which excludes private road transport and accommodation costs — was lower than a 2.9 per cent forecast in a Reuters poll, and compared with the 2.9 per cent seen in June.
It was the smallest annual increase in the core price index since February 2022, when it rose 2.2 per cent.
Headline inflation in February was up 2.4 per cent from the same month last year, lower than the 2.5 per cent forecast in the poll. It was the lowest headline inflation rate since August 2021.
Inflation in the Asian financial hub has cooled from a peak of 5.5 per cent in early 2023, but only dropped below 3 per cent in June.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore expects core inflation to ease more significantly in the final quarter of this year. It has forecast core inflation at 2.5 per cent to 3.5 per cent this year.
Last week, the trade ministry adjusted its GDP growth forecast range for 2024 to 2.0 per cent to 3.0 per cent, from 1.0 per cent to 3.0 per cent previously after the economy posted stronger-than-expected second quarter growth. — Reuters
