Singapore’s core inflation climbs to 3.3% in October, fueled by surging costs across services and retail

SINGAPORE: Official data released on Thursday (23 Nov) revealed that Singapore’s core inflation escalated to 3.3 per cent year-on-year in October.

This increase was primarily attributed to elevated inflation across services, retail, and various goods.

In a press release, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) pointed out that the surge also stemmed from escalated electricity and gas costs.

This upturn marks the first rise in core inflation after a continuous downward trend since March.

Notably, core inflation peaked at 5.5 per cent in January and February this year, marking a 14-year high.

In September, Singapore’s core inflation dropped to 3 per cent, representing the lowest figure since March 2022.

It’s worth noting that core inflation excludes accommodation and private transport costs from its calculation.

On an overall scale, inflation climbed to 4.7 per cent year-on-year in October, up from the previous month’s 4.1 per cent.

MTI and MAS attributed this increase to the heightened inflation in private transport, coupled with the rise in core inflation.

Services inflation climbed to 3.4 per cent

In October, services inflation climbed to 3.4 per cent, marking an increase from September’s 3.1 per cent.

This growth was primarily propelled by a notable surge in holiday expenses.

Moreover, tuition fees, other educational expenses, and outpatient, and hospital services costs experienced accelerated growth rates.

The inflation for retail and other goods rose to 1.6 per cent in October. This uptick was attributed to stronger price increases in personal care products and medical goods. Additionally, the decline in prices of clothing and footwear slowed down during this period.

October saw a 1.8 per cent rise in electricity and gas costs, primarily due to increased tariffs.

Food inflation eased to 4.1 per cent in October as the prices of non-cooked food and prepared meals witnessed smaller increases.

Private transport inflation soared to 11.7 per cent in October, largely driven by a rapid increase in car prices.

In October, accommodation inflation slightly decreased to 4.2 per cent as the rate of housing rent growth moderated.

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