Singapore’s key inflation gauge rose at a slightly faster pace in September after two months of deceleration, led by public transport and healthcare costs.
The core inflation rate, which excludes housing and private transportation costs, stood at 0.4% in September from a year earlier, according to a statement by the Department of Statistics Singapore on Thursday. That’s higher than 0.3% in August and the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey.
The overall inflation rate came in at 0.7% last month from a year ago, higher than the 0.6% survey median estimate. The transport inflation rate was 3.4% while healthcare costs rose 1.4%.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore kept its policy settings at its Oct. 14 meeting. Official estimates project the city-state’s core inflation to average at 0.5% this year, narrowing from the previous range of 0.5%-1.5%.
The economy grew 2.9% year-on-year in the third quarter, according to preliminary estimates from the Ministry of Trade and Industry last week. That compared with a 2% forecast in a Bloomberg News survey. Drivers of the faster-than-expected expansion include construction and services.