Singapore's headline inflation falls to -0.3 per cent in November

SINGAPORE'S headline inflation fell into negative territory to -0.3 per cent in November (from 0.1 per cent in October) - setting a new low since December 2009.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Ministry of Trade and Industry said in joint comments that this was "mainly on account of base effects associated with fluctuations in car Certificate of Entitlement (COE) premiums", and that price increases for other major categories - except food - also eased.

The median forecast of 13 economists polled by Bloomberg before the Department of Statistics (DOS) released the data on Tuesday was for a -0.2 per cent year-on-year headline inflation figure.

Core inflation - which excludes the costs of accommodation and private road transport - eased to 1.5 per cent in November from 1.7 per cent a month earlier, due to a smaller increase in services fees.

While MAS and MTI reiterated their 2015 inflation forecasts (headline at 0.5-1.5 per cent and core at 2-3 per cent), they cautioned that these could come in slightly lower, "should global oil prices be sustained at current low levels".