Singapore Inflation Rate Spikes in May on Low Comparison Base

Singapore's consumer price inflation spiked in May, as expected, as a low base of comparison from last year pushed the rate higher.

The consumer price index rose 1.4% year-on-year in May, compared with the median estimate for a 1.3% rise in a poll of five economists by The Wall Street Journal, and a 0.4% rise in April.

Housing and utilities costs, which make up 26.3% of the index, climbed 0.1%, reversing several months of declines, as maintenance and repair costs rose. A government rebate offered in May last year had pushed prices sharply lower.

The cost of transportation, which has an index weighting of 15.8%, gained 3.8% in May from a year earlier, easing a bit on a more moderate increase in car and petrol prices, the data showed.

Food prices, with a 21.7% weighting in the index, rose 1.5% on year after a 1.3% gain in April as prices of non-cooked food items rose, the data showed.

The central bank's core inflation measure, which strips out private road transport and accommodation costs, eased to 1.6% from 1.7% in April due to a fall in services inflation.

Write to Gaurav Raghuvanshi at gaurav.raghuvanshi@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 23, 2017 01:14 ET (05:14 GMT)