Singapore’s annual consumer prices fell for the eighth straight month in June, an outcome that could give the central bank room to ease policy if economic growth disappoints.
The all-items consumer price index (CPI) fell 0.3 per cent year on year last month, official data showed on Thursday, in line with analysts’ forecasts. Headline CPI fell 0.4 per cent in May.
The smaller drop in June was due to factors such as larger increases in the costs of food and private transport costs, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said.
The MAS core inflation gauge rose 0.2 per cent from a year earlier, up from a five-year low of 0.1 per cent in May, due to a pick-up in services and food-related costs.
Core inflation excludes the prices of cars and accommodation, which are influenced more by government policies, and is the focus of monetary policy.
The drop in the core inflation rate to a five-year low in May, coupled with a contraction in Singapore’s economy in the second quarter, have put renewed focus on the possibility of a further easing of monetary policy later this year.