Singapore consumer price inflation remained subdued in May, with both headline and core inflation missing expectations as lower services inflation offset rising food, transport and accommodation costs.
Headline CPI inflation held steady at 1.8% year-on-year in May, official data showed on Tuesday. The reading missed expectations for a 2% increase and was unchanged from April.
On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose 0.7%, reversing a 0.3% decline in the previous month.
Core CPI inflation, which excludes accommodation and private transport costs and is closely watched by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), remained unchanged at 1.4% year-on-year. The reading was below expectations of 1.6% and matched the level seen in April.
The latest reading indicated that underlying price pressures remained contained despite expectations for a modest pickup in inflation. Higher food and retail goods inflation was largely offset by softer services inflation, while headline inflation was held in check by lower services costs despite increases in accommodation and private transport prices.
Services inflation eased to 1.3% in May from 1.5% in April, largely due to a steeper decline in telecommunication services prices. Food inflation accelerated to 1.8% from 1.6%, while accommodation inflation rose to 0.5% from 0.4%. Private transport inflation also picked up to 8.6% from 8.1% in the previous month.
MAS and the Ministry of Trade and Industry said both core inflation and headline inflation are still expected to average between 1.5% and 2.5% in 2026, although risks to the outlook remain tilted to the upside due to elevated global energy prices and potential supply-chain disruptions.
The inflation data comes ahead of the central bank’s next monetary policy review in July, where policymakers are widely expected to leave policy settings unchanged while assessing the outlook for domestic demand and imported inflation pressures.
Source: Investing