Singapore's MAS Core Inflation rises to 0.5 pct in March

SINGAPORE, April 23 (Xinhua) -- The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) and Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said on Friday that the MAS core inflation rose to 0.5 percent on a year-on-year basis in March, from 0.2 percent in February.

This was driven by higher services inflation, as well as smaller declines in the retail and other goods costs and in the electricity and gas costs.

Meanwhile, Singapore's CPI-All Items inflation came in at 1.3 percent on a year-on-year basis this March, compared to 0.7 percent in February. The uptick reflected higher private transport inflation, in addition to the rise in core inflation.

Singapore's MAS core inflation excludes the costs of accommodation and private road transport, and CPI-All Items inflation represents the rise in the consumer price index for all items.

In March, Singapore's services costs grew 1.2 percent, compared to the 0.5 percent increase in the previous month. The costs of retail and other goods declined 1.5 percent, compared to the 1.9 percent decrease in February. The costs of electricity and gas declined 9.7 percent, compared to the 9.8 percent decrease in the previous month. The private transport costs rose 7.2 percent in March, compared to the 4.2 percent increase in February.

MTI and MAS said that the MAS core inflation is expected to average 0-1 percent in 2021, while the forecast range for CPI-All Items inflation is 0.5-1.5 percent.