Singapore's consumer price index in May fell again by 1.6 percent, the 19th straight month of decline, according to the latest data released by Singapore's Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) and Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on Thursday.
The consumer price index (CPI) came in at minus 1.6 percent in May on a year-on-year basis, compared with minus 0.5 percent in April, mainly on account of base effects associated with the timing of the disbursement of Service & Conservancy Charges (S&CC), said MTI and MAS in the joint media release.
MAS core inflation, which excludes the cost of accommodation and private road transport, went up 1 percent, compared with 0.8 percent in April, due to higher services inflation. Private road transport cost fell by 7.6 percent, faster than the 7.1 percent decline a month earlier.
This was mainly due to a larger decline in petrol pump prices, reflecting the relatively high base in May last year. Food inflation edged down to 2.2 percent from 2.3 percent in the previous month, as increases in the price of prepared meals (such as restaurant food) moderated. For the whole of 2016, MAS core inflation is likely to be in the lower half of the 0.5 to 1.5 percent forecast range, while CPI-All Items inflation is projected to remain negative throughout 2016, and average -1.0 to 0 percent for the whole year, said MTI and MAS.
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