SINGAPORE, July 25 (Xinhua) -- Singapore's Consumer Price Index (CPI) for general households declined by 0.9 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2016, said the Department of Statistics (SingStat) on Monday.
SingStat stated that CPI-All Items for general households declined by 0.9 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2016, larger than the 0.7 percent decrease in the second half of 2015.
Excluding imputed rentals on owner-occupied accommodation (OOA), the CPI edged down by 0.2 percent after remaining unchanged in the second half of 2015.
By income groups, the CPI-All Items for the lowest 20 percent, middle 60 percent and highest 20 percent income groups declined by 1.3 percent, 0.7 percent and 1.1 percent respectively in the first half of 2016.
Excluding imputed rentals on OOA, the CPI for the middle 60 percent income group rose by 0.1 percent, while that for the lowest 20 percent and highest 20 percent income groups dropped by 0.2 percent and 0.6 percent respectively, according to the release.
In the first half of 2016, all three income groups experienced declines in accommodation costs, electricity tariffs and car prices, although these were partially offset by higher food prices.
Among the three income groups, the lowest 20 percent income group saw the largest decline in CPI-All Items primarily due to lower accommodation costs, healthcare services costs and electricity tariffs, which had a more significant impact on its CPI as these items accounted for a higher share of its total expenditure.
On the other hand, the CPI-All Items for the highest 20 percent income group fell by more than that for the middle 60 percent income group because it saw a steeper fall in car prices, and its expenditure share on cars was also higher.
