Singapore CPI at a negative 0.6% in 2015

Consumer prices declined 0.6 percent from a year earlier in January as transport, housing and communication costs slid, data released in Singapore Tuesday showed.

Prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages grew 3.9 percent in January from a year ago and clothing and footwear prices edged up by 0.2 percent. The “Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels” group accounted for the largest rise in the index during January 2016 compared with January 2015, contributing 81.8 per cent to the surge.

Private road transport cost was 1.8% lower, extending the 1.1% decline in December, as the sharper fall in vehicle prices amid weaker Certificate of Entitlement (COE) premiums more than offset the faster pace of increase in petrol pump prices.

Overall services inflation moderated to 0.5% in January from 0.9% a month earlier, largely due to a slower pace of increase in education services fees and holiday travel costs.

– Reuters pic, February 24, 2016.Saudi inflation soared to a five-year high in January after the kingdom made unprecedented cuts to public subsidies and raised fuel prices, a research report said today.

MAS and MTI said that this reflects the smaller weight of oil-related items and the exclusion of private road transport costs.

Working to offset January’s price upturns was a diminishing energy index, where the reading was dragged down by the falling cost of oil.

But the slowdown was not broad-based; healthcare services costs picked up as the disinflationary effects of enhanced medication subsidies introduced in January previous year dissipated. The increase comes after a 0.2 increase in December 2015, as well as a December decision by the Fed to raise short-term interest rates.

The MAS, however, kept its 2016 core inflation forecast unchanged at 0.5 percent to 1.5 percent.

They added: “The pass-through of wage costs to consumer prices may also remain tempered by the subdued economic growth environment”. There will be some pass through from the tight labour market into consumer prices, although the pass through is not going to be as strong as what was anticipated in the past.

That compared with 2.3 percent in December, said Riyadh-based Jadwa Investment, citing official figures.