An aerial view of Singapore’s Marina Bay Street Circuit on Sept. 17, 2024.
Roslan Rahman | Afp | Getty Images
Singapore’s inflation in November remained steady at 1.2%, missing estimates, as a higher increase in prices of services was offset by a steeper decline in electricity costs.
The reading was lower than Reuters-polled analysts’ median estimates of 1.3%.
Core inflation in the city-state, which strips out prices of private transport and accommodation, also came in at 1.2%, compared to expectations of 1.3%.
Higher services inflation at 1.9% was due to larger increases in the costs of point-to-point transport, which includes taxis, ride-hailing and car-pooling services, and health insurance.
In contrast, inflation for retail and other goods slowed as the prices of clothing and footwear, as well as personal-care appliances declined, in addition to the fall in electricity costs.
Core inflation is forecast to be around 0.5% in 2025, before rising to 0.5%–1.5% in 2026. Headline inflation is expected to average 0.5%–1.0% in 2025 and 0.5%-1.5% in 2026, MAS said in a statement.
“Supply shocks, including those stemming from geopolitical developments, could lift some imported costs abruptly. However, a sharper-than-expected weakening in global demand could keep core inflation lower for longer,” the statement said.
The inflation reading comes after better-than-expected economic data from Singapore, with non-oil exports surging 11.6% year on year in November, beating estimates of a 7% rise.
Singapore’s economy grew at 4.2% in the third quarter, also beating expectations of 4% expansion.
Last month, the Singapore’s ministry of trade and industry upgraded the country’s annual GDP forecast to “around 4%,” and about 1%-3% for 2026, a sharp revision from April’s forecast, when it had warned that zero growth was also a possibility. The ministry said that the global environment had proved more resilient than anticipated, with manufacturing and export demand remaining strong in the third quarter.
MAS has held its monetary policy steady for the last two meetings, after easing it in January and April meetings amid the threat of tariffs over the global economy.
