Economists expect 'double tightening' of monetary policy after headline inflation surprises at 4% in Dec

MORE aggressive tightening of monetary policy could be in the cards in April, said private-sector economists, after Singapore's higher-than-expected headline inflation in December prompted the authorities to review their 2022 forecasts.

Headline inflation hit 4 per cent, exceeding economists' expectations of 3.7 per cent and beating November's previous high of 3.8 per cent, the latest consumer price index (CPI) figures from the Department of Statistics (Singstat) showed.

This is the fastest that headline inflation has risen since February 2013, when it was 4.9 per cent.