23.04.202010:02:00UTC+00Singapore Consumer Prices Steady In March

Singapore's consumer prices stable in March, data from the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Ministry of Trade and Industry showed on Thursday.

The consumer price index remained unchanged in March, after a 0.3 percent increase in February. Economists had expected a 0.3 percent decrease.

The latest inflation was driven by a decrease in services cost and private transportation cost.

MAS core CPI, which excludes the costs of accommodation and private road transport, fell 0.2 percent in March, following a 0.1 percent decline in the preceding month. The fall was attributed to a bigger decline in costs of services.

The statistical office expects external sources of inflation to remain benign in the coming quarters, amid low oil prices and weak consumer demand due to travel restrictions and lockdowns to battle the Covid-19 pandemic.

Supply chain disruptions caused by Covid-19 could push up the prices on imported food prices. Both MAS Core Inflation and CPI-All Items inflation are forecast to average between -1 percent and 0 percent in 2020, the statistical office and MAS said.