Singapore's core inflation rises 0.6% in June, lower than poll forecast

CNA

5 days ago

SINGAPORE: Singapore's key consumer price gauge rose 0.6 per cent in June from a year earlier, official data showed on Wednesday (Jul 23), lower than economists' forecasts.
The core inflation rate, which excludes private road transport and accommodation costs, compared with a forecast of 0.7 per cent in a Reuters poll of economists.
Higher inflation in retail and other goods was offset by lower inflation in all other major core consumer price index categories, said the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI).
The core inflation rate in June was identical to that in May.
Meanwhile, headline inflation was 0.8 per cent in annual terms in June, lower than economists' forecast of 0.9 per cent. It was also unchanged from May.
Apart from core inflation remaining unchanged, higher transport inflation was offset by lower accommodation inflation, said MAS and MTI.
MAS and MTI expect Singapore's imported inflation to remain "moderate" as global crude oil prices have eased and food commodity price increases should remain contained.
"Although the ongoing trade conflicts could be inflationary for some economies, their impact on Singapore's import prices is likely to be offset by the disinflationary drags exerted by weaker global demand," they said.
Domestically, unit labour costs are "projected to rise gradually" as nominal wage growth continues to ease, even as productivity increases.
Enhanced government subsidies for essential services such as public healthcare, preschool education and public transport will also continue to dampen services inflation, according to MAS and MTI.