SINGAPORE, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Singapore's Consumer Price Index (CPI) moderated to 0.4 percent in April as cost of accommodation recorded larger decline, the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said in a joint release on Tuesday.
CPI-All Items inflation moderated to 0.4 percent in April, from 0.7 percent in the preceding month, due to 6.7 percent decline in the cost of accommodation, compared to the 4.0 percent fall in March, according to the joint release.
The joint release said private road transport cost increased to 7.0 percent from 6.9 percent in March, owing to the faster pace of increase in car and petrol prices.
Services inflation edged up to 1.7 percent in April from 1.6 percent a month earlier, largely because of higher telecommunications services fees following price declines in the previous month.
Meanwhile, food inflation remained stable at 1.3 percent in April, as the rise in non-cooked food inflation was offset by the smaller increase in the prices of prepared meals.
MAS Core Inflation, excluding the cost of accommodation and private road transport, rose to 1.7 percent in April from the 1.2 percent in March, due to the stronger pickup in the cost of electricity and gas.
The authorities maintained their 2017 forecast for MAS Core Inflation at average 1 to 2 percent, while CPI-All Items inflation is projected to pick up to 0.5 to 1.5 percent.
