Singapore's annual inflation accelerated in September on higher food and housing costs but stayed below a 26-year high, with price pressures likely to ease in coming months as the financial crisis reduces demand, reports Reuters.
The consumer price index rose 6.7 percent in September from a year ago, and economists said it showed price pressures will take time to abate, reducing chances of the central bank further easing monetary policy before its next scheduled announcement in April.
The index rose 6.4 percent in August.
From the previous month, the consumer price index rose 0.1 percent
after seasonal adjustments, the Department of Statistics said today, compared with a forecast for a 0.1 percent fall.
The trade-dependent economy fell into its first recession in six years
in the third quarter after exports and manufacturing output slumped.
Singapore's inflation held at a 26-year peak of 7.5 percent in the
second quarter but has since eased, partly as the effects of a
two-percentage-point rise in sales tax last year faded from annual
calculations.
The central bank expects 2008 inflation to be within 6-7 percent this year, and easing to between 2-3 percent in 2009.
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