Singapore: CPI drops for 23rd month

People shop for fish at a wet market in Singapore. (Photo: Reuters)

Singapore (VNA) – The latest data jointly released by the Singapore Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) showed that the country’s Consumer Price index (CPI) dropped for the 23rd month. 

The data said the CPI-All Items inflation of the country in September decreased 0.2 percent year-on-year. 

In September, personal road transport cost fell by 0.4 percent, compared to a 1 percent decline in the previous month, due to falling gas price.Real estate price also fell 3.7 percent, up 0.1 percent month-on-month. The inflation rate of the service sector stood at 1.5 percent, a drop of 0.2 percent from August. Meanwhile, food price increased 2.2 percent.

Core inflation, not including changes road transport costs and private housing prices, slightly declined to 0.9 percent from 1 percent a month earlier, as the falling service inflation made up for the food price hike. 

Both MTI and MAS forecast that the inflation rate of Singapore will be at -0.5 percent in 2016 and between 0.5 and 1.5 percent in 2017, while its core inflation rate is estimated at 1 percent this year.-VNA