Singapore inflation eases to 5.5% in September

Transport cost declined 1.2%, owing to lower Certificate of Entitlement premiums.

Month-on-Month Changes
The consumer price index in September 2011 fell by 0.2 per cent compared with August 2011, due mainly to lower costs of transport, clothing & footwear as well as “recreation & others”, according to the Singapore Department of Statistics.

Transport cost dipped by 1.2 per cent, owing to lower Certificate of Entitlement premiums. With cheaper ready-made garments and footwear, prices of clothing & footwear dropped by 1.3 per cent. The cost of “recreation & others” declined by 0.2 per cent, due to cheaper holiday travel.

By contrast, food prices moved up by 0.2 per cent, reflecting dearer prepared meals, vegetables and fresh fish. Housing cost edged up by 0.1 per cent on account of higher accommodation costs, which reflected higher imputed rental of owner-occupied accommodation that has no impact on the cash expenditure of owner-occupied households. Excluding accommodation costs, the consumer price index fell by 0.3 per cent in September 2011.

Seasonally-Adjusted CPI
On a seasonally adjusted basis, the consumer price index in September 2011 remained unchanged compared to the preceding month. Likewise, excluding accommodation costs, the consumer price index remained at the same level as that in August 2011.

Year-on-Year Changes
Compared with September 2010, the consumer price index increased by 5.5 per cent in September 2011, as a result of higher costs of housing, transport and food. The 9.6 per cent rise in housing cost stemmed mainly from higher accommodation cost and electricity tariffs. The higher accommodation cost was mainly a result of higher imputed rental of owner-occupied accommodation which has no impact on the cash expenditure of owner-occupied households.

The cost of transport advanced by 11.4 per cent, mainly due to a significant increase in Certificate of Entitlement premiums as well as higher price of petrol compared to a year ago.

Food prices went up by 3.1 per cent, reflecting dearer prepared meals, fresh fish, dairy products and meat & poultry. Excluding accommodation costs, the consumer price index rose by 4.2 per cent in September 2011 compared with the same period a year ago.

The consumer price index in January-September 2011 moved up by 5.1 per cent compared with the same period last year. Excluding accommodation costs, the consumer price index was 4.2 per cent higher during the same period.

MAS Core Inflation Measure
On a month-on-month basis, the MAS core inflation measure (which excludes the costs of accommodation and private road transport) was 0 per cent in September 2011.

On a year-on-year basis, the MAS core inflation measure eased to 2.1 per cent, from 2.2 per cent in August 2011.