Singapore’s core inflation rate remained unchanged at 1.4% in May, defying private-sector economist forecasts that pointed to an acceleration to 1.6%, according to data from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
The headline figure stayed flat as a decline in services prices counterbalanced rising costs for food and retail goods, signaling that underlying price pressures remain contained despite broader cost-of-living concerns.
6% and the actual 1.4% underscores the resilience of disinflationary forces in the services sector, which has been a key driver of recent price stability.
The softer-than-expected print provides immediate relief for policymakers and market participants who had been bracing for a potential uptick in inflationary momentum.
With core inflation holding steady well below the MAS’s typical comfort zone, the data reduces the urgency for any tightening bias in monetary policy.
The divergence between the forecasted 1.6% and the actual 1.4% underscores the resilience of disinflationary forces in the services sector, which has been a key driver of recent price stability.
This development follows a similar trend in April, when Singapore’s headline inflation came in at 1.8%, also below the 2% forecast by economists.