Core inflation rises to 1.4% in February

Headline CPI eases to 1.2% as housing and transport soften.

Core inflation rose to 1.4% in February from 1.0% in January, although headline inflation eased to 1.2% from 1.4% as lower accommodation and private transport costs offset firmer price pressures elsewhere.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Ministry of Trade and Industry said the increase in core inflation was driven mainly by higher services, food, and retail and other goods inflation, partly reflecting Chinese New Year effects.

Services inflation rose to 2.0% from 1.5%, mainly because of higher airfares and holiday expenses, whilst food inflation increased to 1.6% from 1.2%. Retail and other goods inflation edged up to 0.6% from 0.5%.

By contrast, accommodation inflation fell sharply to 0.3% from 1.9% due to a smaller increase in housing maintenance and repairs costs, whilst private transport inflation eased to 2.4% from 2.7% as petrol prices declined further. Electricity and gas prices remained in deflation at negative 4.3%.

On the outlook, MAS and MTI said Singapore’s import cost pressures are likely to pick up in the near term as global energy prices have risen significantly amid the Middle East conflict.

Despite this, both MAS Core Inflation and CPI-All Items inflation are still projected to average 1.0% to 2.0% in 2026, with MAS set to update its view in April’s monetary policy statement.

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