Singapore Cpi For August Signals Slowdown

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Singapore Cpi For August Signals Slowdown

Singapore's CPI For August Is 4%, Signals A Slowdown

During the month of August, the consumer price index inflation in Singapore eased a little bit. According to the data, the reason behind the slowdown in inflation was mainly driven by the food & services prices. At the same time, the high fuel prices meant little change in the CPI reading during August.

August's CPI reading shows an increase of 4%, while last month's data showed an increase of 4.1%. So, when August's CPI is compared with July's, there is a difference of -0.1%.

If volatile items like private transport costs, accommodation, & similar items are excluded, it means an increase of 3.40% in the core CPI inflation. Once again, that's below the 3.50% expected value and July's value of 3.8%.

Overall, the data from Singapore shows that inflation is slowing down, but the pace is not as fast as it should be.

Global Supply Chain Issues Led To Soft Inflation Data

The recent soft inflation reading is mainly driven by supply chain issues around the globe. This has resulted in a decrease in the import costs of the consumer & food items.

At the same time, the cost to import oil products has increased, which is mainly driven by global crude prices. Meanwhile, the main factors that are driving up inflation in Singapore still remain in effect, such as the rising rents and labor costs.

According to the MAS, the core inflation will continue to slow down in the coming months. They also added that the labor market of Singapore is not as tight as before. Similarly, import prices have also decreased recently, which is also contributing to the easing of inflation.

In the year 2023, the forecast by the MAS reveals that CPI inflation will be around 4.5% - 5.5%, which is higher than the recent value of 4.0%. So, if we keep that forecast in mind, it means the inflation will likely jump higher during the rest of 2023.

The inflation data coming from Singapore reveals that the economy is improving. Similarly, the sharp slowdown in the Island state's economy is also slowly turning into growth.

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