MAS: Consumer Price Index remains unchanged from February

Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has announced that all Items inflation and Core Inflation came in at 0.7 percent and 1.2 percent respectively in March, unchanged from the preceding month.
The All-Items Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation was 0.7 percent in March, unchanged from February. The drivers of headline inflation in March were largely similar to the previous month.
Private road transport inflation eased to 6.9% from 7.1 percent in February, as the faster pace of increase in car and motorcycle prices was offset by the smaller pickup in petrol prices. Services inflation edged up to 1.6 percent in March, from 1.5 percent a month earlier.
MAS and Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) stated that the slightly quicker pace of inflation was mainly due to a pickup in air fares following price declines in the previous month, even as telecommunication services fees fell.
Food inflation was 1.3 percent in March, unchanged from the preceding month. Although the price of restaurant meals increased at a faster pace, non-cooked food inflation slowed. Meanwhile, accommodation cost fell by 4.0 percent in March, the same rate of decline as in the previous month, amid continued softness in the housing rental market.
CPI less imputed rentals on owner-occupied accommodation (CPI-ex OOA) rose by 1.8 percent in March Inflation as measured by CPI less imputed rentals on owner-occupied accommodation (OOA) was 1.8 percent in March, unchanged from February.
They added that MAS Core Inflation was 1.2 percent in March, the same as in the previous month, as price changes in the core components of the CPI basket were broadly stable.