Economists expect further monetary policy tightening in April, 6 months after last round

Singapore

A FURTHER tightening of monetary policy just 6 months after the last round should not be discounted, with Singapore's inflation in October appearing to accelerate, economists have said.

Headline inflation rose to 3.2 per cent last month, compared with 2.5 per cent in September, going by data from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) on Tuesday (Nov 23). The last time headline inflation crossed the 3 per cent mark was in March 2013.

Core inflation, which excludes accommodation and private transport, rose to 1.5 per cent in October - the highest level in 3 years - from 1.2 per cent in the previous month.

These readings surprised private-sector economists, who had predicted headline inflation to come in at 2.8 per cent, and core inflation, at 1.3…

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