Singapore's August headline inflation at 0.4%, coming in below expectations

BOTH Singapore's headline and core inflation came in lower than expected in August, based on the latest data by the Department of Statistics.

The all-items consumer price index (CPI) was up 0.4 per cent year on year, moderating from July's 0.6 per cent, reflecting a fall in private road transport inflation, and to a lesser extent, an easing in food and retail inflation. Collectively, they more than offset the smaller decline in the cost of accommodation.

Core inflation, which excludes the costs of accommodation and private road transport, stood at 1.4 per cent in August, easing from 1.6 per cent in the previous month, due to lower food and retail inflation.

Private sector economists polled by Bloomberg before the data was released on Monday had forecast headline inflation to come in at 0.6 per cent and core inflation at 1.6 per cent.

Private road transport inflation fell to 2.6 per cent in August from 3.5 per cent in July, while food inflation was lower at 1.2 per cent compared to 1.4 per cent in the preceding month.

The cost of retail and other goods, including water, rose by 0.9 per cent in August, while services inflation was 1.4 per cent, unchanged from the previous month. Cost of accommodation fell by 3.9 per cent in August.