Core inflation holds at 1.4% in May on weaker services

However, food prices rose to 1.8% from 1.6% in April.

Core inflation came in at 1.4% year-on-year in May, broadly unchanged from April, as higher food and retail goods inflation was offset by weaker services price growth.

CPI-All Items inflation remains unchanged at 1.8%, according to the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI).

On a month-on-month basis, core prices were unchanged during the month, whilst CPI-All Items rose 0.7%.

Food inflation rose to 1.8% from 1.6% in the previous month, as prices of non-cooked food and food services grew at a quicker pace.

Retail and other goods inflation edged up to 1.6% from 1.5% due to faster price increases for appliances, personal care, and information & communication equipment.

In addition, private transport inflation rose from 8.1% to 8.6% due to larger increases in car and motorcycle prices. Accommodation inflation increased slightly from 0.4% to 0.5%, reflecting a larger rise in housing rents.

Meanwhile, services inflation fell to 1.3% in May from 1.5%, on the back of a steeper decline in telecommunication services prices. Electricity and gas inflation stayed at -3.0%, as electricity prices declined at a similar pace in both months.

MAS and MTI maintained their forecast for both MAS core inflation and CPI-All Items inflation to average 1.5% to 2.5% for the year.

They said global energy prices remain elevated compared with 2025 levels, and higher energy costs could pass through to production and transport costs for imported goods and services over time.

“On the domestic front, services unit labour costs are likely to increase at a slower pace this year as nominal wage growth eases from the firm levels last year,” the authorities added.