Singapore inflation eases to -0.4% in July

WHILE Singapore's headline inflation rate eased to -0.4 per cent in July from June's -0.3 per cent, core inflation rose to 0.4 per cent last month from 0.2 per cent in June.

This is compared to private-sector expectations of a -0.2 per cent headline and 0.3 per cent core inflation reading, according to a Bloomberg poll conducted before the Department of Statistics released July's data on Monday.

Core inflation excludes the costs of accommodation and private road transport. The lower headline inflation reading was mainly due to the lower cost of private road transport, said the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) in joint comments.