Singapore’s consumer prices declined at a softer rate in June, data from the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Ministry of Trade and Industry revealed on Thursday.
The consumer price index fell 0.5 percent year-on-year in June, following a 0.8 percent decrease in May. Economists had expected a 0.6 percent decline.
This fall in the CPI was largely due to a smaller decline in private transport costs.
MAS core CPI, which excludes the costs of accommodation and private road transport, fell 0.2 percent annually in June, same as in the preceding month.
The latest decline can be attributed to higher food inflation that offset a steeper drop in the cost of services, as well as smaller decline in the costs of retail & other goods and electricity & gas.
Food inflation climbed due to a larger increase in the prices of non- cooked food items.
The statistical office expects external sources of inflation to remain benign in the coming quarters, amid weak global demand condition. Oil prices would remain low for a long period and will weigh on the prices of energy-related components.
Supply chain disruptions caused by Covid-19 could continue to increase the prices on imported food prices.
Both MAS Core Inflation and CPI-All Items inflation are forecast to average between -1 percent and 0 percent in 2020, the statistical office and MAS said.
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