Investing.com-- Singaporean consumer inflation grew at a slower-than-expected pace in October, aided chiefly by softer housing and energy costs, while import prices also fell.
Consumer price index inflation rose 1.4% in October from a year earlier, lower than a forecast of 1.8% due to a moderation in services, electricity and gas, and other goods inflation, official data showed on Monday.
The core inflation rate, which excludes private road transport and accommodation costs, rose 2.1% compared with a 2.8% rate in September.
The slower rise has been helped by services inflation, which has been on an easing trend, and should slow further over the rest of 2024, according to the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
“A significant downturn in the global economy could induce a greater easing of cost and price pressures, causing domestic inflation to come in lower than expected,” the MAS said in a statement.
The MAS expects core Inflation to remain at around 2% through to end-2024. Core inflation is projected to average 2.5–3.0% in 2024 as a whole, and step down further to 1.5–2.5% in 2025.
Singapore's central bank left its monetary settings unchanged in its October meeting, as expected, as the economy perked up in the third quarter.