Singapore’s core inflation rose to 5.3% in September, driven mainly by an increase in food, services, retail, and other goods official data shows.
This is higher than the 5.1% reported in August, as the inflation figures inch towards a 14-year high. The last time Singapore recorded such high numbers was in 2008 November when it stood at 5.5%.
The headline consumer price index over overall inflation is at 7.5% year on year in September unchanged from August.
“Core inflation is projected to stay elevated in the next few quarters before slowing more discernibly in (the second half of) 2023 as the current tightness in the domestic labour market eases and global inflation moderates,” said the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) in a joint media release.
Food inflation came in higher at 6.9% due to a steeper increase in both food and non-cooked food prices, while accommodation inflation also picked up alongside a faster pace of increase in housing rents, hitting 4.9 percent in September.
Services inflation rose to 4 percent in September as the cost of point-to-point transport services and holiday expenses saw a larger increase.
Private transport inflation fell to 22.3 percent from 24.1 per cent in August due to a slower pace of increase in car and petrol prices.
Prices of retail and other goods also registered a faster pace of increase, coming in at 3.1 percent in September, as inflation for telecommunication equipment, medicines and health products, and other personal care products edged up.
Meanwhile, inflation for electricity and gas remained at 23.9 percent, unchanged from August. For the full year, overall inflation is expected to average 6 percent, while MAS core inflation is projected to come in at around 4 percent.
MAS and MTI also noted increasing risks to the inflation outlook, “including from fresh shocks to global commodity prices and more persistent-than-expected external inflation”.
