Core inflation climbs to 2% in July; electricity prices rise sharply

Meanwhile, headline inflation picks up to 2.2% in July from the preceding month’s 1.9%.

Elysia Tan
Published Mon, Aug 24, 2026 · 01:02 PM
    • Inflation trends across CPI categories are mixed.
    • Inflation trends across CPI categories are mixed. PHOTO: TAY CHU YI, BT

    [SINGAPORE] Core and headline inflation picked up in July, with the core figure rising largely due to electricity and gas, services and food segments, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said on Monday (Aug 24).

    Core inflation, which excludes accommodation and private transport, rose to 2 per cent in July from June’s 1.6 per cent. Still, it was below the median 2.2 per cent predicted in Bloomberg’s poll of private sector economists.

    Barclays’ estimates suggest that the 17 per cent adjustment in electricity tariffs accounted for 0.3 percentage point of the increase, said Brian Tan, its head of non-China EM Asia economics research.