Singapore's inflation rate for general households for the whole of last year was 2.1 percent, more than double the previous year's figure of 1 percent, according to figures on the consumer price index (CPI) released by the Department of Statistics (DOS) on Monday.
The inflation rate for both the lowest 20 percent and the middle 60 percent income groups rose by 2 percent in the year, while the inflation rate for the top 20 percent group rose by 2.3 percent, said the DOS.
The increases in the CPI were due mainly to dearer food, holiday travel, accommodation, university tuition fees, taxi fares and petrol, said the DOS.
It also reflected the one-off increases in the goods and services tax (GST) rate in July 2007, which the DOS expects to wear off in the second half of this year.
These price increases were moderated by lower electricity, tariffs, domestic refuse removal fees and government levy on foreign maids. There were also more service and conservancy charge rebates during the year, said the DOS.
The higher inflation rate for the top 20 percent income group last year, said the DOS, was due mainly to increased holiday travel cost, car and petrol prices, which have relatively larger weights compared to other income groups.
For the second half of 2007, the CPI was 3.4 percent for general households, compared with the previous year's 0.7 percent, said the DOS.
The lowest income group saw an inflation rate of 2.8 percent, while the middle had 3.3 percent.
The DOS added that the top 20 percent income group experienced the highest inflation rate of 3.9 percent.
Source: Xinhua
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