Singapore's CPI-All Items inflation grows to 0.6 pct in November

SINGAPORE, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- Singapore's Consumer Price Index for all items (CPI-All Items) grew 0.6 percent year-on-year in November, compared to a 0.4-percent growth in October, according to a joint statement issued by two government authorities on Monday.

The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) and Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said in the joint statement that the CPI-All Items inflation increased in the month because of an increase in private road transport inflation and smaller declines in the costs of retail goods and accommodation, even as services inflation eased.

In November, the MAS core inflation, which excludes the costs of accommodation and private road transport, was unchanged at 0.6 percent from October as lower services inflation was offset by a smaller decline in the cost of retail goods.

According to the joint statement, Singapore's services inflation edged down to 1.1 percent in November, from 1.2 percent in October. Meanwhile, the cost of retail goods fell 0.5 percent year-on-year in November, less than a 0.8-percent drop in October; and the accommodation costs decreased 0.2 percent year-on-year in November, less than a 0.4-percent drop in the previous month. Besides, the private road transport inflation grew from 1 percent in October to 2.3 percent in November.

The authorities reiterated in the statement that Singapore's CPI-All Items inflation is projected to be around 0.5 percent this year and average 0.5-1.5 percent in 2020. They forecast that the MAS core inflation will come in at the lower end of the 1-2 percent range in 2019, and average 0.5-1.5 percent in 2020.