Singapore core inflation drops to 2.1% in October, lowest since 2021

Overall inflation also falls sharply, with easing trend expected to continue into 2025

- Claire Huang

Singapore's core and overall inflation dropped sharply in October and more than expected, with both the Government and economists expecting the easing trend to continue into 2025.

Core inflation, which strips out private transport and accommodation costs to better reflect the expenses of households here, fell to 2.1 per cent year on year, from 2.8 per cent in September.

This was the lowest since December 2021, when it was also 2.1 per cent, and below the 2.5 per cent forecast by economists in a Bloomberg poll.

DBS Bank economist Chua Han Teng said the last time core inflation fell by a similar magnitude of 0.7 percentage points was in January 2013.

He said the core inflation increases in September and August were temporary blips in the broader downtrend.

October's drop in core inflation was led by slower price rises in services, electricity and gas, and retail and other goods, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said in their report on Nov 25.

Overall, or headline, inflation fell to 1.4 per cent year on year in October - the lowest reading since March 2021 - from 2 per cent in September. The drop was led by slower accommodation inflation and a steeper fall in private transport costs.

Private transport costs fell 2.5 per cent in October, more than the 2.4 per cent decrease in September, owing to a bigger drop in car prices.