Investing.com -- Singapore's consumer inflation experienced a cool down last year, aligning with the central bank's expectations and indicating a possible opportunity for monetary easing.
The consumer price index (CPI) saw a rise of 1.6% last month compared to the same month a year earlier, according to the Department of Statistics. This increase remained steady from November's growth and was slightly above the median estimate of a 1.55% rise, as predicted by a Wall Street Journal poll of 10 economists.
The core CPI, a closely monitored measure that excludes private road transport and accommodation costs, increased by 1.8% in December from a year prior. This figure is a slight drop from November's 1.9% growth and slightly above the median estimate of a 1.7% increase.
While the central bank of Singapore does not have a fixed target for inflation, it perceives a core inflation rate slightly below 2% as being in line with overall price stability in the economy.
In 2024, the average core inflation was 2.7%, a significant decrease from the 4.2% rate observed in 2023. The headline measure was recorded at 2.4% versus 4.8% in 2023, indicating that the efforts of policymakers to control price pressures have been successful.
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