A housewife (R) buys vegetables at a wet market in Singapore
Roslan Rahman | Afp | Getty Images
Singapore on Monday reported lower-than-expected inflation for April at 1.8% in April, as the higher costs of energy due to the Iran war will take meaningful effect only from the third quarter.
Reuters-polled economists has estimated inflation at 2%. Core inflation — which strips out prices of private transport and accommodation — came in at 1.4%.
Earlier in the day, Singapore revised its first-quarter GDP growth sharply higher to 6%, up from 4.6% in advanced estimates, and topping Reuters estimates of 5.1%.
The country's ministry of trade and industry said that Singapore's full year growth will come in between 2%-4% in 2026, amid energy-related disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz.
In its policy decision in April, the Monetary Authority of Singapore had forecast that energy supply shortfalls and higher input costs will continue to weigh on the outlook for Singapore economy.
The MAS in April tightened its monetary policy for the first time in over three years due to the inflation outlook.
Unlike most nations, Singapore does not use interest rates to manage its monetary policy, but instead guides the Singapore dollar within a policy band against a trade-weighted basket of currencies.
The SGD is managed within the set policy band, whose precise levels are not disclosed.
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