Singapore’s Inflation Remains at Four-Year Lows as the City-State Gears Up for Elections
Singapore’s Raffles Place at lunchtime. Roslan Rahman | Afp | Getty Images
Singapore’s inflation in March remained at over four-year lows, with the city-state’s consumer price index climbing by 0.9% year on year.
According to Singapore’s monetary authority, the primary contributors to the headline inflation were increases in the costs of food and private transport during March. The inflation rate for March was lower than the expectations of 1.1% projected by analysts and matched the 0.9% recorded in February. On a month-on-month basis, the CPI experienced a slight decline of 0.1% in March. Core inflation, which excludes the prices of private transport and accommodation, slowed to 0.5% compared to February’s 0.6%. This overall slowdown in core inflation was attributed to lower inflation across most categories, with the exception of food.
The inflation figures arrive as Singapore prepares for a general election on May 3, with campaigning set to begin soon as candidates file their nomination papers.
Prime Minister Lawrence Wong expressed in a video on Tuesday that the pressures of living costs were “a real concern” for Singaporeans. He noted that these pressures were influenced by geopolitical conflicts in Europe and the Middle East, global supply chain disruptions, as well as tariffs and trade disputes.
Earlier in April, Singapore eased its monetary policy for the second consecutive time, as the city-state faces the possibility of zero growth this year after reporting a lower-than-anticipated GDP expansion of 3.8% for the first quarter. This latest inflation reading offers more flexibility for the country to adopt measures aimed at stimulating growth.
Singapore’s year-on-year quarterly GDP growth fell short of the 4.3% expectation derived from economists surveyed. It also lagged behind the 5% growth seen in the last quarter of 2024. The Ministry of Trade and Industry has revised its GDP forecast for 2025 to a range of 0%-2%, down from the previous outlook of 1%-3%. The Monetary Authority of Singapore similarly projected GDP growth of 0%-2% for 2025. In an official statement, the MTI indicated that the growth slowdown is primarily due to reductions in manufacturing along with declines in certain service sectors such as finance and insurance.
