Singapore Core Inflation Unexpectedly Slows Despite GST Hike
- Core inflation gauge slows along with all-items measure
- MAS has kept policy settings steady since April 2023
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Singapore’s core inflation slowed in January defying all estimates, amid smaller gains in costs of healthcare to household goods despite an increase in the goods and services tax.
The core gauge, which excludes costs of accommodation and private road transport and is the measure tracked by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, came in at 3.1% last month from a year earlier, compared with the median forecast for a 3.6% increase. All-items inflation printed 2.9% year-on-year, undershooting all estimates in a Bloomberg survey, after a 3.7% reading in December.