Inflation edges up to 3.7% in December

In 2023, headline inflation averaged 4.8%.

The rate of price increase slightly picked up to 3.7% in December  2023, data from the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) and Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) showed.

In November  2023, inflation was at 3.6%%.

The expansion of the headline or consumer price index (CPI)-all items inflation was due to a faster pace of increase in private transport costs (5.0% vs 4.2%), alongside the pickup in services inflation (3.9% vs 3.5%).

Expenditure divisions which also saw a decline in the rate of price increase were electricity and gas (1.3% YoY from 1.5% YoY) and food (3.7% YoY from 4.0% YoY).

Core inflation for the month, meanwhile, clocked in at 3.3% YoY, slightly higher than the November record of 3.2% YoY.

In 2023, headline inflation averaged 4.8%, down from 6.1% in 2022, whilst core inflation averaged 4.2%, up from 4.1% in 2022. 

For 2023, MTI expects core inflation to average 2.5%-3.5%.

"Excluding the transitory effects of the 1%-point increase in the GST rate to 9%, core inflation is expected to come in at 1.5–2.5%," MTI commented.

The forecast range for headline inflation will be released in MAS' January Monetary Policy Statement.