Singapore's CPI growth hits 0.5 pct in February

SINGAPORE, March 25 (Xinhua) -- Singapore's Consumer Price Index (CPI) grew 0.5 percent Year on Year in February, following the 0.4 percent increase in January, said the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) and Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) in a joint release on Monday.

The MAS Core Inflation, which excludes the costs of accommodation and private road transport, declined from 1.7 percent on a Year-on-Year basis in the previous month to 1.5 percent this February.

The authorities said the CPI growth picked up slightly due to more gradual declines in private road transport and accommodation costs, which outweighed lower inflation for services, retail items and electricity and gas.

They attribute the decline in MAS Core Inflation to smaller increases in the costs of services, retail items and electricity and gas.

The MTI and MAS reiterated in the release that Singapore's CPI growth and MAS Core Inflation for 2019 are projected to be in the ranges of 0.5-1.5 percent and 1.5-2.5 percent, respectively.