Consumer prices expected to rise 0.9% this year

Whilst inflation is set to 1.5%.

Economists surveyed by Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) expects consumer price index to show a measly 0.9% growth this year, moderating from their consensus of a 1% expansion in the previous survey.

This would come as the median forecast for MAS Core Inflation this year remains unchanged at 1.5%.

For 2Q17, CPI-All Items and MAS Core Inflation are expected to come in at 0.7% and 1.6%, respectively. The median CPI inflation forecast for 2017 as a whole is 0.9%, slightly below the 1.0% in the previous survey.

Meanwhile, the respondents expect that the unemployment rate will be 2.4% at year-end, also unchanged from the previous survey.

For next year, the economists' expectation for CPI-All Items and MAS Core Inflation are projected to be 1.4% and 1.7%, respectively.