SINGAPORE: Singapore’s consumer prices fell at a faster-than-expected pace in July as car prices declined and the housing market remained soft.
The consumer price index fell 0.4% year-over-year in July, compared with the median estimate for a 0.2% decline in a poll of six economists by The Wall Street Journal, and a 0.3% fall in June.
The cost of transportation, which has an index weighting of 15.8%, gained 0.1% in July from a year earlier, the data showed.
However, private road transport costs fell by 0.1% after rising by 1.2% in June, largely because of the decline in the prices of certificate of entitlement for cars. A certificate of entitlement is a permit required in Singapore to buy a car and a limited number are auctioned every fortnight.
Housing and utilities costs, which make up 26.3% of the index, declined 3.5% because of lower rental and electricity costs.
Food prices, which have a 21.7% weighting in the index, rose 1.9% from a year earlier, compared with a 2.0% rise in June, the data showed.
The central bank’s core inflation measure, which strips out private road transport and accommodation costs, rose 0.4% from a year earlier in July, from 0.2% in June.
External sources of inflation remain benign and global oil prices are expected to be “much lower” this year than in 2014, the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Monetary Authority of Singapore said in a joint statement accompanying the data.
Core inflation is expected to remain subdued around the current rate, though the consumer price index could ease further, the government and the central bank said.
