Singapore Inflation Rises 6.6 Percent in January, a 25-Year High.
Singapore's inflation rose 6.6 percent in January, a 25-year high, with housing and food costs rising much faster than analysts predicted. The consumer price index, a non-core measure of costs for goods and services, accelerated after rising 4.4 percent from a year earlier in December, the Department of Statistics said Monday. January's rise was the fastest since March 1982.
Economists polled by Dow Jones Newswires forecast an average increase of 5.9 percent. The data were the latest in a series of rising price figures that have prompted the government to raise its 2008 inflation forecast, creating a greater need for tight monetary policy.
The government recently raised its inflation forecast for the year to 4.5-5.5 percent, faster than the 3.5-4.5 percent announced in November. However, the Ministry of Trade and Industry said the January inflation figure was consistent with the government's official inflation forecast. The ministry said Monday that inflation momentum in the city-state has neither accelerated nor abated in January and that the higher year-on-year increase largely reflected a low base 12 months ago.
On a three-month moving average basis, "inflation picked up sharply in July 2007 and has stayed at around 0.8 percent since," the same as in December, the ministry said in a statement. "This largely reflects the impact of higher global inflation in food and energy which has persisted through the last seven months. The underlying momentum in inflation in January 2008 is therefore in line with the inflation experience to-date," the statement said.
Housing costs were the main driver of January's inflation, rising 11.1 percent from a year earlier. Transport and communication costs gained 6.9 percent on-year, due to more expensive petrol and higher taxi fares and car prices. Prices of food increased by 5.8 percent, reflecting dearer cooked food, milk products, fresh poultry and pork, bread and fruits, as a result of price markups ahead of Lunar New Year festivities in the first week of February.
On month, the index gained 1.5 percent in seasonally adjusted terms, surpassing a forecast for a 0.6 percent rise. The index rose 0.5 percent in December from November. In unadjusted terms, consumer prices rose 1.3 percent in January from December.
Singapore's inflation rose 6.6 percent in January, a 25-year high, with housing and food costs rising much faster than analysts predicted. The consumer price index, a non-core measure of costs for goods and services, accelerated after rising 4.4 percent from a year earlier in December, the Department of Statistics said Monday. January's rise was the fastest since March 1982.
Economists polled by Dow Jones Newswires forecast an average increase of 5.9 percent. The data were the latest in a series of rising price figures that have prompted the government to raise its 2008 inflation forecast, creating a greater need for tight monetary policy.
The government recently raised its inflation forecast for the year to 4.5-5.5 percent, faster than the 3.5-4.5 percent announced in November. However, the Ministry of Trade and Industry said the January inflation figure was consistent with the government's official inflation forecast. The ministry said Monday that inflation momentum in the city-state has neither accelerated nor abated in January and that the higher year-on-year increase largely reflected a low base 12 months ago.
On a three-month moving average basis, "inflation picked up sharply in July 2007 and has stayed at around 0.8 percent since," the same as in December, the ministry said in a statement. "This largely reflects the impact of higher global inflation in food and energy which has persisted through the last seven months. The underlying momentum in inflation in January 2008 is therefore in line with the inflation experience to-date," the statement said.
Housing costs were the main driver of January's inflation, rising 11.1 percent from a year earlier. Transport and communication costs gained 6.9 percent on-year, due to more expensive petrol and higher taxi fares and car prices. Prices of food increased by 5.8 percent, reflecting dearer cooked food, milk products, fresh poultry and pork, bread and fruits, as a result of price markups ahead of Lunar New Year festivities in the first week of February.
On month, the index gained 1.5 percent in seasonally adjusted terms, surpassing a forecast for a 0.6 percent rise. The index rose 0.5 percent in December from November. In unadjusted terms, consumer prices rose 1.3 percent in January from December.
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