Singapore Inflation Rate Steady at 0.4% in September
Consumer prices in Singapore increased 0.4 percent from a year earlier in September of 2017, the same pace as in the prior month and line with market expectations. The inflation figure remained the lowest since April, as food inflation was similar to the preceding month while cost of transport increased at a slower pace.
Year-on-year, prices went up less than in a month earlier for: clothing & footwear (0.5 percent from 1.6 percent in August); transport (1.1 percent from 1.4 percent, largely due to a 2.1 percent rise in private road transport); household durables & services (0.8 percent from 1.2 percent, largely due to a 2.1 percent increase in household services & supplies).
Cost rose at faster pace for: miscellaneous goods & services (0.7 percent from 0.1 percent, due to a 0.4 percent rise in alcoholic drinks & tobacco, a 3.4 percent rise in personal effects and a 1.9 percent increase in other miscellaneous expenditure); recreation & culture (0.4 percent from 0.3 percent, due to a 0.8 percent rise in recreation) and communication (1.3 percent from 0.1 percent).
Inflation was steady for education (2.7 percent), due to a 2.7 percent rise in tuition & other fees and a 0.9 percent gain in school textbooks & related study guides. Also, inflation of health care was steady (2.5 percent), mainly due to a 3.3 percent rise in medical & dental treatment.
Prices of food rose 1.2 percent, the same pace as in the previous month. Among food excluding food servicing services, cost increased for milk, cheese & eggs (0.4 percent); fish & seafood (2.8 percent); oils & fats (3.3 percent), fruits (1.6 percent); sugar, preserves & confectionery (1.2 percent); vegetables (3 percent), and other food (0.5 percent). Meantime prices were flat for meat; non-alcoholic beverages. In contrast, cost fell for bread & cereals (-0.7 percent). Among food servicing services, prices increased for all categories: restaurant foods (0.7 percent), fast food (0.9 percent), hawker food including food courts (1.7 percent), and catered food (1.7 percent).
On the other hand, cost fell for housing & utilities (-2.3 percent from -2.3 percent, mainly due to a 3.9 percent decline in accommodation).
Core consumer prices which exclude costs of accommodation and private road transport, rose 1.5 percent from 1.4 percent in August and above estimates of 1.4 percent
On a month-on-month basis, consumer prices were flat, after increasing 0.3 percent in a month earlier.
Statistics Singapore | Chusnul Ch Manan | chusnul@tradingeconomics.com
10/23/2017 10:16:49 AM