SINGAPORE'S inflation data for March, released this past week, hewed to a global trend that has been making some market watchers nervous.

The headline consumer price index (CPI) climbed 1.3 per cent year-on-year in March, a significantly faster rate of increase than the 0.7 per cent recorded for February and the 0.2 per cent for January.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore's (MAS) core inflation rate (which excludes the accommodation and private transport components of the CPI) came in at 0.5 per cent for March, up from 0.2 per cent in February and minus 0.2 per cent in January.