Core inflation grew 5.3% YoY in September due to 'large' hike of food prices

This is an increase from 5.1% growth in August.

Amidst quick increase in food costs, the government unveiled that the Lion City’s core inflation went up to 5.3% year-on-year (YoY) in September from 5.1% in August.

According to the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI), the rise in core inflation stemmed from larger increases in prices of food, services, and retail, amongst others.

“Food inflation picked up as the prices of both food services and non-cooked food rose at a faster pace,” read the statement.

Consumer Price Index on All items inflation was 7.5% YoY in September, unchanged from August.

Headline inflation was maintained as higher core and accommodation prices were mitigated by lower costs of private transport.

On a monthly basis, core CPI and CPI-All Items went up by 0.5% and 0.4%,respectively.

Core inflation to stay elevated

With the ongoing supply chain crisis and labour shortage, MTI is seeing further increases for the core inflation in the next few quarters.

But it seems that it will slow down in the second half of 2023 due to the expected moderation of the domestic labour market and global inflation.

For full-year inflation, it sees CPI-All Items inflation to average around 6% and core inflation to moderate at 4%.

Next year, MTI said the GST increase will cause headline, and core inflation to average to 5.5%-6.5% and 3.5%-4.5%, respectively.