Chart of the Day: What you need to know about inflation in May

Easing was due to a more moderate rise in the prices of oil-related items and accommodation cost.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Ministry of Trade and Industry reported:

The lower CPI-All Items inflation in May was due to a more moderate rise in the prices of oil-related items and accommodation cost.

The overall price increase for domestic oil-related items eased from 8.9% in April to 7.8% in May, reflecting the recent weakness in global oil markets. Accommodation cost inflation fell from 12.7% in April to 9.0% in May, largely due to the timing of the disbursements of rebates for service & conservancy charges (S&CC) for HDB households. Imputed rentals on owner-occupied accommodation (OOA) also rose at a slightly slower pace of 10.4% in May.

In comparison, the increase in private road transport cost picked up from 8.2% in April to 10.3% in May on account of a sharper spike in COE premiums and, hence, car prices. Together, accommodation and private road transport costs accounted for close to two-thirds of CPI-All Items inflation in May.

Services and food inflation rose marginally, by 0.1% point to 2.9% and 2.5% respectively in May.