Core Inflation Stays at Year’s High of 1.2% in November

Singapore’s consumer prices held steady in November, as higher services inflation was offset by lower retail and other goods inflation and a steeper decline in electricity and gas costs, according to official data released on Dec 23.

Core inflation, which excludes private transport and accommodation to better reflect household expenses, was 1.2 per cent in November, the highest since December 2024. Overall inflation also came in at 1.2 per cent.

Both measures were unchanged from October, when core inflation shot up from a near four-year low of 0.4 per cent in September.

But November’s core and overall inflation were lower than the 1.3 per cent that analysts polled by Bloomberg had forecast for each.

Services inflation edged up to 1.9 per cent from 1.8 per cent in October. This was due to larger increases in the costs of point-to-point transport services and health insurance, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said in a joint release.

Food inflation was unchanged at 1.2 per cent, as prices of food services and non-cooked food rose at the same pace as in October.

Retail and other goods inflation eased from 0.4 per cent in October to 0.3 per cent in November, as prices of clothing, footwear and other appliances for personal care declined.

Electricity and gas prices fell 4.1 per cent in November, from a 4 per cent decline in October, due to a larger drop in electricity costs.

Accommodation costs rose at 0.3 per cent in November, unchanged from October, as housing rents increased at a similar pace.

MAS and MTI reiterated their inflation forecasts for 2025 and 2026.

Core inflation is projected to come in at around 0.5 per cent in 2025 before rising to between 0.5 per cent and 1.5 per cent in 2026.

Overall inflation is expected to average 0.5 per cent to 1 per cent in 2025 and 0.5 per cent to 1.5 per cent in 2026.

The Straits Times