The MAS Core Inflation has eased to 0.8% on a year-on-year (y-o-y) basis in July, from 1.2% in June, mainly on account of a fall in the prices of retail & other goods, a larger decline in the cost of electricity & gas, as well as lower services inflation, the Monetary Authority of Singapore has announced.
CPI-All Items inflation moderated to 0.4% y-o-y in July, from 0.6% in the previous month, due to lower core inflation, even as accommodation costs registered a smaller decline and private road transport inflation rose.
CPI-All Items inflation came in lower at 0.4% y-o-y in July CPI-All Items inflation moderated to 0.4% y-o-y in July, from 0.6% in June, largely due to a fall in the cost of retail & other goods, and a steeper decline in the cost of electricity & gas.
These changes, together with lower services inflation, more than offset higher private road transport inflation, as well as a smaller decline in accommodation costs. The cost of retail & other goods fell by 1% y-o-y in July, reversing the increase of 0.4% in the previous month.
This mainly reflected a dissipation of the effect of previous increases in water prices, as well as a larger drop in the prices of clothing & footwear. The cost of electricity & gas declined by 7% y-o-y in July, steeper than the 4.8% drop in the preceding month, due to a smaller increase in electricity tariffs compared to a year ago, as well as the dampening effect of the nationwide launch of the Open Electricity Market (OEM) on electricity prices.
Services inflation edged down to 1.6% y-o-y in July, from 1.7% in June, largely on account of a slower pace of increase in holiday expenses and a larger fall in telecommunication services fees, which outweighed a stronger pickup in airfares.
Food inflation was 1.4% y-o-y in July, unchanged from the previous month, as an uptick in food services inflation broadly offset a smaller increase in the prices of non-cooked food items. The cost of private road transport rose by 0.3% y-o-y in July, slightly higher than the 0.2% rise in the preceding month, mainly on account of a stronger increase in the cost of general repair and maintenance of personal transport equipment.
Accommodation costs fell at a slower pace of 0.9% y-o-y in July compared to the 1.1% decline in June, due to a more gradual decline in housing rentals.
