SINGAPORE, Nov 23 — Singapore’s core inflation picked up to 3.3 per cent year-on-year in October, from 3.0 per cent in September, said the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI).
In a joint statement today, MAS and MTI said the increase in core inflation was due to higher inflation for services & retail and other goods, as well as an increase in electricity and gas costs.
MAS, the central bank, monitors core inflation measures that exclude the components of “accommodation” and “private transport”.
As for the Consumer Price Index (CPI)-All Items, inflation rose to 4.7 per cent year-on-year in October, from 4.1 per cent in September.
“This was reflected in higher private transport inflation, in addition to the rise in core inflation,” said the statement.
On a monthly basis, core CPI increased by 0.4 per cent in October, as prices across all broad core CPI categories rose.
“The increase, coupled with higher private transport costs, caused CPI-All Items to rise by 0.2 per cent,” it said.
For the outlook, MAS and MTI said global crude oil prices have been volatile, falling sharply in recent weeks after having risen earlier.
Meanwhile, global prices for most food commodities, as well as intermediate and final manufactured goods, have continued to moderate.
“These factors, alongside the stronger Singapore dollar trade-weighted exchange rate, should further temper the republic’s import cost pressures in the quarters ahead,” said the statement.
On the domestic front, the statement said, unit labour costs are expected to rise at a slower pace in tandem with the gradually cooling labour market.
“Businesses are likely to continue passing through higher labour costs to consumer prices, but at a more gradual pace,” it said.
MAS Core Inflation is projected to edge down to between 2.5 and 3.0 per cent year-on-year by December.
For 2023, CPI-All Items inflation is expected to average around 5.0 per cent, and MAS Core Inflation around 4.0 per cent.
In 2024, headline and core inflation are projected to average around 3.0 to 4.0 per cent and 2.5 to 3.5 per cent, respectively.
Excluding the transitory effects of the 1.0 per cent-point increase in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) rate to 9.0 per cent, headline and core inflation are expected to come in at between 2.5 and 3.5 per cent and between 1.5and 2.5 per cent, respectively.
— Bernama
