Singapore's CPI-All Items Inflation Rises 1.7 Pct In First Half Of Year

By Anas Abu Hassan

SINGAPORE, July 23 (Bernama) -- Singapore’s Consumer Price Index (CPI)-All Items for general households rose by 1.7 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) during the first half (1H) of 2026, compared to the 0.9 per cent increase in 2H 2025.

The Singapore Department of Statistics (SingStat) said the CPI-All Items inflation for the lowest 20 per cent, middle 60 per cent, and highest 20 per cent income groups came in at 1.2 per cent, 1.8 per cent, and 1.6 per cent y-o-y, respectively, in 1H 2026.

"In 1H 2026, the expenditure items that had a larger contribution to the increase in CPI-All Items for all three household income groups were food, motor cars, health insurance, accommodation and petrol. The higher prices for these items were partially offset by the lower costs of general, vocational and higher education, and electricity," it said in a statement on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI), in a separate joint statement, said Singapore's core inflation picked up to 1.6 per cent y-o-y in June from 1.4 per cent in May 2026, driven by increases in food, services and retail and other goods inflation.

The CPI-All Items inflation rose to 1.9 per cent y-o-y in June from 1.8 per cent in May, due to higher accommodation inflation, in addition to the pickup in core inflation.

The joint statement noted that higher energy costs are expected to gradually feed through global supply chains, increasing production and transportation costs for a broader range of Singapore’s imported goods and services over time.

Consumer spending in the city-state could turn more cautious amid the economic uncertainty. "Reflecting these factors, the MAS core inflation and CPI-All Items inflation are projected to average 1.5–2.5 per cent in 2026," it said.

-- BERNAMA