Key facts
- Singapore's core inflation rate was 2.0% year-on-year in July.
- Headline inflation was 2.2% year-on-year in July.
- Both figures were below Reuters poll forecasts.
- The central bank tightened monetary policy in late July due to inflationary risks.
- Singapore's growth forecast was raised to 4.5%-5.5% for the year.
Singapore's key consumer price gauge rose 2.0% in July from a year earlier, official data showed. The core inflation rate, which excludes private road transport and accommodation costs, was lower than the median forecast of 2.2% in a Reuters poll. Headline inflation was 2.2% in annual terms in July, also lower than the poll forecast of 2.3%. The central bank had previously flagged that inflation is expected to pick up from July and to stay elevated through the first half of next year. Earlier this month, the trade ministry raised its growth forecast to 4.5%-5.5% this year, up from 2.0%-4.0%, after second-quarter GDP expanded 5.9% from a year earlier. The central bank unexpectedly tightened monetary policy in late July, citing persistent inflationary risks amid elevated energy cost pressures caused by the Middle East conflict.