Singapore's core inflation projected to rise in 2026

Analysts expect prices to go up for goods and services regularly used by households

- Chor Khieng Yuit Senior Business Correspondent

The main contributors to inflation in 2025 were health insurance, food, accommodation, higher bus and train fares, and pricier cars, said the Department of Statistics.

(ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH)

Inflationary pressures are building in Singapore, analysts said, with prices of goods and services that households regularly use expected to rise in 2026.

The analysts were reacting to official figures released on Jan 23 by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI).

The report showed that while core inflation on average fell significantly to 0.7 per cent for the whole of 2025, from 2.8 per cent in 2024, it picked up and stayed at 1.2 per cent in the last three months of the year.

That inflation momentum could accelerate in 2026 because of higher costs, including those of public transport and utilities, though businesses will be constrained in how much they can raise prices, the analysts said.

MAS and MTI also said that overall inflation averaged 0.9 per cent in 2025, a big drop from 2.4 per cent in 2024.

But they said core and overall inflation are projected to rise in 2026 from their low rates in 2025.