Singapore core inflation rate comes in softer than expected, hits fresh four-year lows

Singapore’s core inflation — which strips out prices of private transport and accommodation — posted its softest rise since February 2021, coming in at 0.3% for August as services inflation softened.

This was lower than the 0.4% expected by economists polled by Reuters, and lower than the 0.5% seen in the month before.

Headline inflation in Singapore came in at 0.5%, down from the 0.6% in July.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore, in its annual report in June, projected that core inflation would average between 0.5% and 1.5% for 2025, down from 2.8% in 2024.

Singapore’s easing inflation comes even as the city-state braces for weaker growth in the second half of the year, with the boost from front-loaded exports expected to fade.

The country had recorded better-than-expected GDP growth in the second quarter of 2025, expanding 4.3% and accelerating from 4.1% in the first three months.

Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry now expects full-year growth of between 1.5%-2.5%, down from 4.4% in 2024.

The latest GDP forecasts from the Ministry of Trade and Industry expect full-year GDP to be between 1.5% and 2.5%, compared to the 2024 figure of 4.4%. Earlier projections had put the range for this year’s GDP growth to be between 0% and 0.2%.

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