SINGAPORE, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) and Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced on Tuesday that the MAS core inflation on a year-on-year basis rose to 5.3 percent in September from 5.1 percent in the previous month.
Meanwhile, the CPI-All Items inflation was 7.5 percent year on year in September, unchanged from that in August.
Singapore's MAS core inflation excludes the costs of accommodation and private transport, and CPI-All Items inflation represents the rise in the consumer price index (CPI) for all items.
According to MTI and MAS, the pickup in core inflation this September was on account of larger increases in the food prices, the services prices, and the retail and other goods prices. The CPI-All Items inflation remained the same as higher core and accommodation inflation were offset by lower private transport inflation.
On a month-on-month basis, Singapore's MAS core CPI and CPI-All Items increased by 0.5 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively.
The two authorities said that the core inflation is projected to stay elevated in the next few quarters before slowing more discernibly in the second half of 2023 as the current tightness in the domestic labor market eases and global inflation moderates. For the full year of 2022, Singapore's CPI-All Items inflation is expected to average around 6 percent, and MAS core inflation is expected to be around 4 percent.
In 2023, taking into account all factors including the Goods and Services Tax (GST) increase, CPI-All Items inflation and MAS core inflation are projected to average 5.5-6.5 percent and 3.5-4.5 percent respectively. Excluding the transitory effects of the GST hike, CPI-All Items inflation and MAS core inflation are expected to come in at 4.5-5.5 percent and 2.5-3.5 percent respectively.
There are upside risks to the inflation outlook, including from fresh shocks to global commodity prices and more persistent-than-expected external inflation, the two authorities said. ■
