2020.01.2305:17:00UTC+00Singapore Inflation Rises In December

Singapore's consumer price inflation rose more-than-expected in December, data from the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Ministry of Trade and Industry showed on Thursday.

The consumer price index rose 0.8 percent year-on-year in December, following a 0.6 percent increase in November. Economists had expected a 0.7 percent rise.

The rise in inflation was driven by an increase in private road transport inflation, and smaller rise in services inflation and food inflation.

MAS core inflation, which excludes the costs of accommodation and private road transport, rose to 0.7 percent in December from 0.6 percent in the preceding month.

On a month-on-month basis, consumer prices rose 0.3 percent in December, same of growth as in the previous month.

The MAS core CPI increased 0.4 percent in December, in contrast to a 0.1 percent fall in the prior month.

The central bank and the ministry forecast core inflation to come within the lower end of the 0.5- 1.5 percent range in 2020 and the core inflation averaged 1.0 percent in 2019.

Meanwhile, overall inflation was 0.6 percent in 2019 and projected to average 0.5-1.5 percent in 2020.