Singapore's goods and services tax hikes lead to inflation pickup. (Photo: straitstimes.com) Singapore (VNA) – Singapore’s core inflation rose slightly to 3.3% year-on-year in December last year, official data has showed.
It edged up from 3.2% year-on-year in November due to higher services inflation, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said.
Core inflation, which excludes accommodation and private transport costs, had risen to 5.5% in January and February last year, a 14-year high, before trending downwards. It fell to 3% in September, the lowest since March 2022.
For the whole of 2023, core inflation averaged 4.2% higher than 4.1% in 2022.
Meanwhile, the headline consumer price index, or overall inflation, was 3.7% in December, higher than the 3.6 % in November.
This reflected a faster pace of increase in private transport costs, alongside the pickup in services inflation, said MAS and MTI.
Overall inflation came in at 4.8%, down from 6.1% the previous year.
Inflation rates in 2023 were impacted by the increase in the goods and services tax rate to 8%, authorities said.
