Singapore CPI stays at 4-year lows as city-state prepares for election

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Raffles de Singapore ate lunch.

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Singapore inflation in March remained at a minimum of approximately four years, with the consumer price index of the city-state rising 0.9%, year after year.

Singapore’s monetary authority said that increases in food costs and private transport in March contributed mainly to the main inflation.

March inflation was lower than the expectations of the 1.1% reuters survey, and the same as 0.9% seen in February. In a basic months to month, the CPI decreased 0.1% in March.

Central inflation, which eliminates private transport prices and accommodation, slowed up to 0.5% from the reading of February or 0.6%. This was due to lower inflation in the wide nucleus CPI categories, except food.

Inflation reading occurs when Singapore prepares for a general election on May 3, with campaigns from Wednesday when the candidates presented their nomination documents.

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said in a video on Tuesday that the cost of living pressures were “true concern” for Singapore. “It is due to wars in Europe and the Middle East, due to the world’s interruptions of the supply chain, and now for tariffs and commercial wars,” Wong said.

Singapore facilitated its monetary policy for the second consecutive time in early April, since the city-state sees zero growth this year as a possibility after publishing an expansion of GDP with less precept of 3.8% for the first QUTER. The last reading allows more space for the country to relieve policies and increase growth.

The quarterly growth of the quarterly GDP of Singapore lost the expectations of 4.3% of the economists surveyed by Reuters, and was lower than the expansion of 5% observed in the last quarter of 2024.

The country’s ministry and industry reduced its GDP prognosis to 0% -2% by 2025, below its previous perspective or 1% -3% -Mas also projected GDP growth or 0% -2% by 2025.

In a statement, MTI said that the deceleration of growth was due to the decrease in manufacturing, as well as some sectors of services such as finance and insurance.

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