Singapore inflation busts analyst forecasts in June; more MAS policy tightening expected

SINGAPORE inflation blew past analysts’ expectations and surged in June to levels last seen during the tail end of the global financial crisis (GFC), when energy prices were high.

All the same, analysts do not expect the central bank to ease policy settings – as the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) did then, when gross domestic product (GDP) was in decline.

Barclays economist Brian Tan noted that tight labour market conditions will generate “steady demand-pull inflation pressures”, among other factors that could prompt MAS hawkishness.