, Singapore

Singapore's January CPI inflation hits 2- year high

Singapore consumer price index in January rose by 5.5 percent year on year. It is the highest in more than two years.


The inflation rate was also higher than previous market estimates, which typically projected a rise of less than 5 percent.

The department said the increase was mainly due to higher costs of transport, housing and food. The costs of transport increased by 18.4 percent due to higher prices of cars and oil. Housing cost rose 5.3 per cent while food prices rose 2.8 per cent.

On a month-on-month basis, the consumer price index increased by 1.6 percent from December last year.

However, the core inflation of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, which excludes accommodation and private road transport costs, rose 2 percent year on year, following a 2.1 percent increase in the previous month.

Inflation pressure has been high in Singapore recently. The CPI inflation for January was the highest since October 2008. The CPI inflation was 3.8 percent in November and 4.6 percent in December last year.

The Ministry of Trade and Industry raised its inflation forecast last week for the year 2011 to 3-4 percent from the previous estimate of 2-3 percent.

The ministry said inflation was expected to accelerate to 5-6 percent in the first months of the year before moderating in the second half.
 

Join Singapore Business Review community
A NOTE FROM SINGAPORE BUSINESS REVIEW

The people you want to reach are already in this room.

Every quarter, SBR lands on the desks of the founders, CFOs, and directors running Asia's most consequential companies. Every day, they open our newsletter and read our website. It's a room that took twenty years to build — and it's the one most of our partners are trying to get into.

The good news is that the door is open. We work with companies on thought leadership articles, sponsored content, industry summits across Southeast Asia, regional awards programmes, podcasts, and media placements in print and digital. The shape of the right partnership depends on what you're trying to do, which is why we'd rather start with a conversation than send a rate card.


If you have something this room should know about, tell us. We'll tell you honestly whether we can help, and how.

No rate cards until we understand the brief. It's a better use of everyone's time.