Singapore Inflation Rises in March
SINGAPORE (AP) - Singapore's consumer prices rose at a slower-than-expected pace in March because of a decline in transportation and communication costs.
The consumer price index rose 1.2 percent from a year earlier, below the 1.4 percent rise forecast in a Dow Jones Newswires poll of six economists.
The data show inflationary pressures are still modest in Singapore even though the central bank recently raised the inflation target for 2006 to 1.0 to 2.0 percent from 0.5 to 1.5 percent.
Compared to February, the index fell a seasonally-adjusted 0.1 percent, the Department of Statistics said in a statement Monday.
Transport and communication costs, which make up 22 percent of the consumer price index, fell 1.1 percent from a year earlier and fell 0.2 percent from February. The department said the prices fell because of lower fees for cell phones and cheaper gasoline.
Housing costs, which make up 21 percent of the index, rose 3.3 percent from a year earlier, but declined 1.5 percent from February due to lower service and conservancy charges.
The cost of food, which makes up 23 percent of the index, rose 1.3 percent from a year earlier, but was flat from February.
Health care costs rose 0.8 percent from a year earlier.
Consumer prices rose an average 1.4 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, the department said.
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