SINGAPORE: Singapore's inflation rate accelerated
last month driven once again by housing and transport
costs.
Department of Statistics data showed the Consumer
Price Index (CPI) in December 2012 rose 4.3 per cent from a year
earlier, after increasing 3.6 per cent on-year in
November.
Accommodation cost inflation reached 8.5 per cent in
December, following a 6.6 per cent gain the previous month.
This was attributed largely to the costs of rented accommodation
and minor repairs & maintenance which picked up sharply as a
result of the disbursement of government rebates for HDB
households.
Imputed rentals on owner-occupied accommodation contributed 1.2
percentage points to overall inflation.
In tandem with the recent surge in COE premiums, private road
transport cost climbed 9.3 per cent year-on-year in December after
increasing 6.7 per cent in November.
Together, accommodation and private road transport costs accounted
for more than two-thirds of CPI "All Items" inflation in
December.
Meanwhile, services inflation dipped to 2.5 per cent from 2.9 per
cent, led by a decline in telecommunication charges and a more
moderate rise in the costs of holiday travel and medical
treatment.
Food inflation eased to 1.5 per cent in December from 1.7 per cent
in the previous month, as price increases for both non-cooked food
and prepared meals slowed.
MAS core inflation, which excludes the costs of accommodation and
private road transport eased to 1.9 per cent from 2.0 per cent due
to lower contribution from costs of services and food.
For the whole of 2012, MAS core inflation was 2.5 per cent compared
with 2.2 per cent in 2011.
In a statement, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said that
given the continued weakness in the global economy, imported
inflation will be "generally benign".
Although the central bank warned that the persistent tightness in
the labour market will support wage increases in 2013, part of the
wage rises will be passed through to consumer prices.
As a result, MAS core inflation is expected to average 2 to 3 per
cent for the whole of 2013.
- CNA/al
