Singapore's consumer price inflation decelerated in March, hitting its lowest rate in two and a half years. This slow down was largely influenced by a drop in private transportation costs, according to data released by the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
In March, the consumer price index increased by 2.7 percent year-on-year, a slower growth compared to February's 3.4 percent. Economists had predicted an inflation drop to around 3.1 percent.
Notably, this was the weakest inflation rate since September 2021 when the prices grew by 2.5 percent.
In addition, core inflation, which doesn't include food and energy prices, also fell to 3.1 percent in March, down from 3.6 percent in February, due to reduced food and service inflation.
The data revealed that private transport expenses decreased by 0.3 percent annually in March, as car prices fell in line with reduced Certificate of Entitlement (COE) premiums.
Simultaneously, food inflation was down to 3.0 percent from 3.8 percent, and service inflation slowed to 3.9 percent, a drop from 4.2 percent.
According to MAS, core inflation is anticipated to steadily decrease throughout the rest of the year due to reduced import cost pressures and a loosening domestic labor market.
Looking ahead to 2024, it is projected that both overall and core inflation will average between 2.5 and 3.5 percent for the year.
