All-items inflation dipped 0.4% in August

Inflation for private road transport fell.

Singapore's all-items consumer price inflation (CPI) dipped to 0.4% YoY in August.

According to a press release, the Monetary Authority of Singapore's (MAS) core inflation also dipped to 1.4%.

All items inflation fell due to a fall in private road transport inflation.

Inflation of food and retail also slowed down which offset the smaller decline in the cost of accommodation.

Private road transport inflation fell to 2.6% in August.

"This was due to a dissipation of the base effect associated with the expiry of the one-year road tax rebates in August 2016, which outweighed the combined impact of a steeper increase in petrol prices and a smaller decline in car prices," MAS and the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said.

Food inflation also fell to 1.2% in August due to smaller increases in non-cooked food and prepared meals' prices.

Meanwhile, prices of retail and other goods rose by 0.9% in August, "reflecting more modest increases in clothing & footwear prices."

Services inflation did not change on a monthly basis at 1.4%, due to higher holiday expenses offset by costs of medical and education services.

Accommodation prices dipped by 3.9%, due to more expensive housing maintenance and repairs.

MAS core inflation fell to 1.4% in August due to lower food and retail inflation.