Singapore households see inflation ease further in H2 2015

THE Consumer Price Index (CPI) for Singapore's households fell 0.7 per cent year on year in the second half of 2015, widening from a 0.4 per cent decline in H1 2015, said the Department of Statistics (DOS).

Excluding imputed rentals on owner-occupied accommodation, the CPI was unchanged, versus a slight increase of 0.2 per cent in H1 2015.

The impact on households across different income groups showed a similar trend. The CPIs for the lowest 20 per cent, middle 60 per cent and highest 20 per cent of households were down 1.4 per cent, 0.5 per cent and 0.8 per cent respectively.

"For all income groups, the main items responsible for the decline were lower accommodation costs and electricity tariffs," said DOS.

Also driven by lower accommodation costs and electricity tariffs, CPI for general households dipped 0.5 per cent year on year for 2015 in the first decline since 2002.

Stripping out imputed rentals on owner-occupied accommodation, inflation edged up 0.1 per cent last year. This is in comparison to a 1.2 per cent rise in 2014.