Consumer prices in Singapore rise for third straight month in February

SINGAPORE — Consumer prices in Singapore rose in February for the third consecutive month, reflecting the increase in the price of private road transport cost.

The All-Items Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose to 0.7 per cent last month, following a 0.6 per cent rise in January, said the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) in a joint statement on Thursday (March 23).

Private road transport cost increased by 7.1 per cent, faster than the 4.1 per cent rise in the previous month due to the relatively low base in February last year.

Services inflation slowed to 1.5 per cent in February from 1.9 per cent a month earlier, largely because of a fall in air fares and a more modest increase in holiday expenses.

Food inflation moderated to 1.3 per cent from 1.9 per cent in January, due to the smaller rise in non-cooked food prices after Chinese New Year as well as the high base last year.

Accommodation cost fell by 4.0 per cent in February, extending the 3.9 per cent decline in the previous month, amid continuous softness in the housing rental market.

MAS core inflation – which excludes the costs of accommodation and private road transport – was 1.2 per cent in February, down from the 1.5 per cent in January, owing to lower services and food inflation.

Headline CPI had been dragged down over the past two years by lower global oil prices, only rising for the first time in two years in December 2016.

The MAS and MTI kept their 2017 forecast for core CPI at 1 to 2 per cent, compared with 0.9 per cent in 2016. Similarly, the forecast for headline CPI remains at 0.5 to 1.5 per cent this year.