Singapore Economy

Economy: Singapore CPI in Jan rose 3.6% yoy, at a slower-than-expected annual pace, as food, clothing and recreation prices showed only small increases from a year earlier. Consensus estimated a 3.9% rise. Core inflation, which excludes private road transport and accommodation costs, slowed to 1.2% from 1.9% in Dec. The cost of transportation, which has an index weighting of 16%, gained 8.5% in Jan from a year earlier because of sharply higher COE for private vehicle ownership. Housing costs, which make up 25% of the index, climbed 4.4%, but that was a slower pace than Dec 's 6.7% on-year rise. That was mainly due to base effects as the Dec figure was influenced by a govt housing rebate program the previous year. Food prices, which have a 22% weighting in the index, rose only 1.0% from a year earlier because of a high base effect from a seasonal rise in food prices in Jan 2012 due to the Chinese New Year.