The Merlion statue in the central business district of Singapore, on Tuesday, July 8, 2025.<\/p>\n
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images<\/p>\n
Singapore’s headline inflation rate remained steady at 0.8% in June, staying at its lowest level in over four years.<\/p>\n
The inflation figure was lower than the 0.9% expected by economists, and comes ahead of the country’s monetary policy decision later in July.<\/p>\n
Core inflation, which strips out prices of private transport and accommodation, remained unchanged at 0.6%.<\/p>\n
The soft inflation figure clears the way for Singapore’s monetary authority to ease its monetary policy to support growth in an uncertain trade environment.<\/p>\n
In its recent annual report released on July 15<\/a>, the Monetary Authority of Singapore noted that core inflation “eased significantly to below 1% in the first five months of this year, coming in below expectations.”<\/p>\n “For the whole of this year, core inflation is projected to average 0.5%\u20131.5%, down from 2.8% in 2024,” the MAS said.<\/p>\n The MAS also maintained its forecast of 0%-2% full-year GDP growth, despite Singapore posting GDP growth of 4.1% and 4.3% year over year in the first and second quarters of this year, respectively.<\/p>\n Analysts from Bank of America said in a 16 July note that the MAS seems more concerned about the impact on the domestic outlook from the highly uncertain global growth backdrop.<\/p>\n “For 2H25, MAS expects domestic growth to be ‘subdued’, with global consumption and investment seen softening in the months ahead, and tariffs to hit domestic production and exports with a lag,” the analysts add.<\/p>\n