Inflation picks up to 6.7% in June

It accelerated due to higher private transport, and accommodation inflation.

The rate of price increase sped up to 6.7% in June. Last month inflation was at 5.6%.

The further acceleration of the headline or consumer price index (CPI)-all items inflation was on the back of higher private transport (21.9% from 18.5%) and accommodation inflation (4.2% from 4.0%), and a rise in MAS core inflation (4.4% from 3.6%), according to the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) and Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).

MAS and MTI said private transport prices edged up as car prices and petrol costs picked up more strongly, whilst accommodation inflation rose due to a larger increase in housing rents.

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For the rest of the year, MAS and MTI  said car and accommodation cost increases will likely stay firm.

Meanwhile, inflation for other expenditure divisions namely services, food, retail and other goods, and electricity and gas also picked up in June to 3.4%, 5.4%, 3.1% and 20.2%, respectively.

Looking ahead, MAS said business will likely “pass on the increases in the prices of fuel, utilities, and other imported inputs, as well as labour costs, to consumer prices.”

For the whole year, headline inflation is forecast to come in at  5.0% to 60%, whilst MAS core inflation is projected to hit 3.0$ to 4.05%.