Singapore: Inflation falls to over two-year low in March
Inflation fell to 2.7% in March, down from February’s 3.4%. March’s result represented the lowest inflation rate since September 2021. The decline was broad-based, with lower price pressures recorded for food, housing and utilities, and transport.
In addition, the trend pointed down, with annual average inflation coming in at 4.0% in March (February: 4.3%). Meanwhile, core inflation fell to 3.1% in March, from the previous month’s 3.6%.
Lastly, consumer prices fell 0.10% from the previous month in March, swinging from the 1.05% increase logged in February.
United Overseas Bank analysts Alvin Liew and Jester Koh commented on the outlook for inflation and monetary policy:
“We assess that normalization of monetary policy via a slight slope reduction (by 50bps) could occur as early as the July 2024 [monetary policy meeting] on the basis of a continued transmission of imported disinflation into Singapore’s core CPI, anchored by the restraining effect from a gradual appreciation of the S$NEER on the prevailing slope settings, in addition to a softening of domestic cost pressures. Overall, we project core inflation to average 3.0% in 2024 (2023: 4.2%) and normalize further to 1.5% in 2025.”