Circuit-breaker hit to inflation raises risk of more monetary easing

The next MAS meeting is still months away, but economists say the risk of another easing is rising

Annabeth Leow

Published Thu, Apr 23, 2020 · 09:50 PM

Singapore

SINGAPORE'S newly extended "circuit-breaker" period - involving tougher movement curbs to keep the coronavirus in check - should keep a lid on consumer prices this year.

And, while analysts still do not expect the central bank to pull back on monetary policy at its meeting in October - or even earlier, in a off-cycle review - some warned that the risk of a second easing in a year is climbing.

This is even as figures for March, which pre-date the two-month circuit breaker, showed inflation heading south on falling services demand. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong last week extended the near-lockdown, which began on April 7, to June 1.

Warning that inflation is "expected to remain subdued", the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) on Thursday disclosed that all-items inflation came in fla…