Singapore consumer prices fall for 23rd straight month in Sep, in line with consensus

Consumer prices in Singapore fell for the 23rd straight month during the period of September, largely in line with what markets had earlier anticipated, which mainly reflected the smaller decline in private road transport costs and, to a lesser extent, higher food inflation.

Singapore’s consumer price index (CPI) fell 0.2 percent last month, compared to 0.3 percent the month before, data released by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) showed in a joint statement Monday.

Also, private road transport costs fell by 0.4 percent, moderating from the 1 percent decline the previous month, largely owing to a smaller drop in petrol prices.  Accommodation costs went down 3.7 percent, continuing on from August's 3.6 per ent drop, amid continued softness in the housing rental market.

Further, food prices rose 2.2 percent in September, up from August's 2 percent, due to a steeper rise in the costs of non-cooked food. Also, inflation the services sector declined 1.5 percent, from 1.7 percent in the month before.

Meanwhile, core inflation, excluding costs of accommodation and private road transport, fell slightly to 0.9 percent from 1 percent in August, largely due to the lower services inflation which offsets the stronger pickup in food prices, the press release showed.