Singapore inflation marginally higher than expected in September; core at 2.8%, headline at 2%

ECONOMISTS remain mixed on the timing of monetary policy easing next year, after Singapore’s core and headline inflation came in a tad higher than expected in September.

Year on year (yoy), September’s core inflation, which excludes accommodation and private transport, was 2.8 per cent, data from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) showed on Wednesday (Oct 23).

This was on account of an increase in retail and other goods inflation. It was a touch higher than August’s 2.7 per cent, and the 2.7 per cent median forecast in a Bloomberg poll of private-sector economists.