Singapore consumer prices rise 0.6% in November

SINGAPORE'S inflation continued to remain subdued in November, even as consumer prices for several items such as healthcare, transport and education went up.

Headline inflation was 0.6 per cent in November against year-ago prices, according to Department of Statistics data released on Tuesday. This is up from 0.4 per cent in the previous month, largely on account of higher private road transport and accommodation inflation. Month-on-month, consumer prices also increased 0.6 per cent.

Core inflation, which excludes accommodation and private road transportation costs, was 1.5 per cent, unchanged from the previous month. This indicator is a key consideration for the Monetary Authority of Singapore's monetary policy moves.

The biggest gains in consumer prices came from transport and education at 2.6 per cent increases year-on-year. Private road transport inflation, in particular, rose 4.1 per cent in November from 2.2 per cent a month ago, mainly due to an increase in car prices.

This was followed by healthcare at 2 per cent, and food and communication at 1.5 per cent each.

Housing and utilities continued its decline with a dip of 2.4 per cent. Within the group, accommodation costs fell by 3.9 per cent in November, moderating slightly from the 4.2 per cent decline in the previous month - a result of the dissipation of the dampening effect of the disbursement of Service & Conservancy Charges rebates on the change in accommodation costs in October.