Chart of the Day: What you need to know about inflation in March

Accommodation cost, which jumped 9.8% yoy in March, remained the single largest contributor.

A joint report by the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Ministry of Trade and Industry said:

CPI-All Items inflation rose from 4.6% in February 2012, on account of a sharper increase in COE premiums which led to higher car prices. Private road transport cost added 1.3% points to CPI-All Items inflation in March, slightly more than twice its contribution in February.

Meanwhile, compared to the increase in February, prices of retail items, such as clothing & footwear, rose more moderately. Services and food inflation remained broadly stable at 3.0% and 2.7% respectively.

Accommodation cost rose by 9.8% y-o-y in March, easing slightly from the 10.2% increase in the preceding month. It has remained the single largest contributor to CPI-All Items inflation. The owner-occupied accommodation (OOA) sub-group, which has a 15.6% weight in the CPI basket, contributed 1.8% points to CPI-All Items inflation in March. This reflected the higher rentals in new and renewed leasing contracts.

Inflation as measured by CPI less imputed rentals on OOA (CPI-ex OOA) was higher at 4.1% in March compared to 3.3% in February, reflecting the stronger rise in car prices.